Cursed to Feed Off the Damned
by Kikinii
Summary: Paige is just an average girl searching for more meaning in her dull life. Everything changes when a deadly black winged man rescues her and her brother before threatening to kill her if she breathes a word of what happened to anyone. BEING REVISED.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I plan on editing this chapter and the next couple chapters soon. I've noticed alot of mistakes that need to be fixed. I:_

_Enjoy what I have so far. _

_xxx_

It was one of those hot summer days when the suns ruthless heat warmed every inch of the land. Animals took shelter underneath the shade of trees while people retreated to the insides of their homes. The heat was almost unbearable and even the maids who were set to do their work at the Forrester residence avoided the heat wave by sticking to their inside tasks. The Forrester's large Victorian house sat at the edge of its property, not a stir could be detected outside its walls, besides the rustling of the grass as the warm breeze made its way through. It was unusual for the temperature to be spiked like this, especially since the day before had been humid with thick clouds overhead threatening to release their heavy rain. Still the summer sun and mother natures unpredictable choice of weather didn't bother Gabriel none. He pressed his small nose flat against his bedroom window and watched as the grass field below his house swayed in the wind. His deep blue eyes stared outside filled with longing until his hot breath had fogged up the window so much he had to pull away to see.

"Oh give it up already Gabriel, you can go outside and play tomorrow. It's way to hot today and nobody wants to sit in that blistering heat just to watch you pick flowers in the field."

Gabriel spun around and locked eyes with his older sister who had just walked into the room. She was about ten years older then him and was always lecturing him or pestering him to stay out of trouble. He narrowed his eyes at her defiantly. Today she wore her long orange hair down letting it flow past her neck to the crook of her back. She had on a yellow summer dress that clung to her damp skin and if her dress was cut any higher she'd be scolded for showing too much leg.

"But I want to go outside already." he whined.

Paige fell back onto her brothers bed and let out a groan, silently cursing the heat.

"Its already late just wait till tomorrow."

Squaring his shoulders defiantly in response to his sisters words he walked out of the room without another word. For some reason when his sister told him to do something he felt compelled to do the opposite. She wasn't the boss of him and he could do whatever he wanted. Right now he wanted to go outside instead of being stuck in that stuffy house, so thats exactly what he was going to do. He quietly lurked down the hallways upstairs trying to get past as many maids as he could without being noticed. He especially avoided running into his governess, she was a high strung lady and would have shooed him away to his room upon sight. He crept down the large curved staircase and took a sharp turn when he reached the bottom step, hurriedly heading towards the side door that led outside. He was delighted when his small legs took him to the side door next to the kitchen without being seen. Forgetting his plan to go unnoticed he threw the door open and without looking back ran towards the field. He loved the feeling of freedom that washed over him every time he was outside or away from the house.

Without much warning the heat wave that hung in the air swept over him as he made his way to the large field. Beads of sweat instantly began to sprinkle his nose as he crossed from the lawn of cut grass that was meant to be his backyard into the long unkempt edge of the field. The breeze blew hot air through his hair leaving his short blonde locks looking tangled while he watched in delight as the long grass before him blew in a synchronized motion. His legs parted the grass at the knees while he made his way to the small patch of flowers located up ahead. For some reason a small grove of flowers grew at the exact center of the long grass field. He loved picking the different colored flowers there and making flower necklaces out of them or catching the ladybugs that grazed there and taking them inside to show to his sister. His sister Paige was the only person he could show bugs to that wouldn't get grossed out or scold him to take them back outside.

Stopping in his tracks Gabriel was pulled from his thoughts when he spotted the purple wings of a butterfly that were settled on a blade of grass not to far from him. Slightly kneeling down he began to creep forward with his hands cupped in front of his face. Its purple wings stuck out like a sore thumb against the green almost begging him to notice them. Cautiously creeping forward he readied himself to pounce as he drew closer. He was a couple feet away when to his faultering amusement he realized that the wings were to large to belong to a butterflies. He squinted his eyes trying to get a better look when the wings began to flutter and to his amazement two small human legs began to dangle underneath the purple wings. At first he didn't know what to think, but he let out a gasp when the creature turned around and his eyes were met with a pair of black ones. The small little "human" before him let out a high pitched giggle and began to lazily fly in circles above him just out of Gabriel's reach. His eyes went wide in amazement.

"A-a fairy?"

The creature let out another giggle before responding.

"I'm not a fairy you silly little boy."

With his mouth hanging open he continued to gape at the creature in amazement. Never in his seven years had he ever seen anything like this. The creature gave the boy a disapproving look before speaking again.

"I can't believe you found me, I was so sure you wouldn't see me when you passed."

The boy remained silent as the small person landed on the tip of another blade of grass and stared up at him. The creature had two pure black eyes that were framed in between two large pointed ears and its skin was a deathly pale. Its body was shaped like a human and where there should have been hair there was a weird pale green hat shaped like an early rose bud. He wasn't really quite sure what to say to the small person but before he could decide the small person began to speak again.

"Drats, now that you found me I have to show you my hidden treasure."

Gabriel's eyes widened.

"Treasure?"

His voice came out a pitch higher than he had meant it to. The small person standing below him seemed like it was trying to frown but only succeeded into forming a pout.

"If a human finds one of my kind then by law we have to lead them to our hidden treasure and give it to them."

Gabriel could barely smother his excitement.

"What kind of treasure?"

The small person crossed its arms over its chest and let out a hrumph.

"I've lived for a long time, so I have rare jewels worth more than 5 of your houses."

It lifted its finger towards the large Victorian house that sat idly behind Gabriel.

Gabriel frowned at the small persons words, he wasn't really interested in money or jewels, his family was already rich and there wasn't much he could do with those. His thoughts were interrupted as the creature continued, expressively moving its hands while it talked.

"I have weapons I've stolen from pirates and enchanted items that will grant you wishes-."

Gabriel didn't even listen to the rest of what the small person was going to say, the part about enchanted items was enough for him to want the treasure.

"Where is it?"

The small person flew up to Gabriel's height letting out a small giggle.

"Why should I tell you?"

Gabriel shrugged

"Well I found you so don't you have to show me?"

The fairy didn't even hesitate to reply.

"True. Well if you want my hidden treasure then you have to follow me."

Gabriel furrowed his brow.

"Is it far?"

The small person that fluttered in the air waved away his question with its pale slender hand.

"It's only a few minute walk; I promise you'll be back home before supper."

It let out another giggle and began to flutter towards the forest that lay at the edge of the field, opposite of his house. He looked back at his house and reluctantly sped off after the fairy creature. He knew if his governess found out he was gone his father would punish him with the belt, but it had promised he'd be back before supper and maybe nobody would notice his absence.

_xxx_

Paige had almost succeeded in falling asleep on her brother's bed but the merciless heat hadn't allowed her that pleasure. She sat up in frustration, scooting to the beds edge. Why did it have to be so damn hot? She disliked the summer very much. Winter had always been her favorite season, in winter there was no unbearable heat to keep you awake and the holidays always had everyone in a cheery mood. This kind of heat always drained her and put her in a foul mood. She let out a sigh before begining to pick at the pale yellow frills on her dress. It was going to be a long couple months, especially since her father had recently been pestering her to find an acceptable suitor. And by acceptable he meant rich with a respectable reputation and title. She couldn't help but wish she had been born in a different time. A time when things were so much simpler, when people got married for the purpose of love not social stature. She hated to defy her father but this was something she felt she might have to fight him on. Even though she was seventeen she knew she wasn't ready to be married. Paige's thoughts were quickly broken when the sound of her governess' loud voice boomed at her from across the room.

"Where on earth is you brother?"

Paige's head snapped up to meet the hard stare of her governess.

"I thought he went to go find you."

She stood up patting away the imaginary dust on her dress; she didn't want to look her governess in the eye if she could help it. Her governess had a knack for lecturing her even more when they made eye contact. She heard her governess snicker and closed her eyes as the woman's loud voice erupted from the small woman standing in the doorway.

"Well I expect you to find him and be downstairs for supper in ten minutes."

She let out the breath she had been holding as she heard the woman's footsteps start away from the door. She looked up watching the woman's back side not bothering to hide her look of annoyance. She quickly managed to cover her expression with an awkward smile when her governess suddenly spun around. She held an evil smirk on her face causing goosebumps to raise on her arms.

"Oh and Paige, don't be late."

With that said the snooty governess exited the room. God how that woman frightened her. Relaxing her shoulders she let out a sigh and walked over to the window. When was she going to be free from all these adults who thought they knew what was best for her? She tried to push her stresses to the back of her mind as she took in the sight of the sun beginning to set behind the forest. Normally she would have smiled at the sight of the suns retirement but she squinted her eyes trying to focus on the flicker of movement she had just seen. Her eyes widened in horror when she recognized the sight of her brothers baby blue shirt and bright blonde hair before he disappeared into the forest behind the trees. She whispered to herself stuck in a horrified trance.

"Oh my god Gabriel..."

Snapping herself out of it she quickly ran from the room practically flying down the staircase best she could without falling. Her brother was already across the field and in the forest so she had to get to him before he wandered too far. She slipped out the side door and practically skipped through the long grass trying to go as fast as she could. She entered the span of trees from where she had spotted Gabriel through the window. She had only been in this forest twice, and both times she had never gone more than a few feet. Her father had warned her to never enter this forest at any time. From what her governess had told her wild animals lurked behind trees, waiting hungrily for the opportunity to eat a human. She had always known her governess was just trying to scare her, but right now she felt convinced that maybe the wretched woman had been telling the truth. She called out in a raised voice for her brother as she walked around trees trying to look for any sign of him.

"Gabriel, Gabriel where are you?"

As she walked further into the maze of trees the more her fear began to spike. The suns fading light filtered through the leaves above allowing an orange light to guide her path. The forest stretched on for endless miles, looking exceedingly confusing and identical in every direction. All she could see ahead of her were endless tree trunks and wild grass at her feet. Please god let me find him before it gets dark. She silently prayed as she began to become more desperate in her search.

_xxx_

He followed the flash of purple wings as they would disappear behind a tree and then flutter back into sight for only a split second before disappearing again. He kept his pace at a slow jog trying to keep up with the small flying creature.

"Hey, wait up!"

His plea was only answered with the sound of the creatures shrill laughter as it flew in and out of sight. In his chase Gabriel had managed to fall twice and even lost one of his small brown shoes. He had been following this creature for what seemed like ten minutes leaving him feeling exhausted. Finally gasping for large breathes of air Gabriel stopped jogging and considered turning back. The small creature ahead called out to him, its voice just an octave higher then the sound of his own breathing.

"It's only a little further, I promise just a little longer and we'll be there."

The boy wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand while kneeling over his knees. His legs were scathed and bleeding with the cuts he had gotten from tripping. As his breathing began to slow he began to jog towards the direction the little fairy had gone in. He paced around trees, over rocks, branches and any other obstacle he came across. He kept telling himself just a little further so he'd stay motivated and fear of the forest wouldn't cloud his thoughts. As he kept jogging Gabriel realized he couldn't see the flashes of purple anymore, he was only left with following the sound of the small creatures shrill giggles in the distance causing him to pick up his pace.

After many more minutes passed and the creatures laughter had faded Gabriel realized in terror that he was alone. He slowly spun around in a circle looking for any sign of the small person, but there was none. His eyes began to prickle with panic as he tried to decide which way was the way back to his house. All he wanted was to be back home, safe and away from this scary place. Fear clenched his stomach when he realized the suns light was fading fast. He wanted to scream for help but instead bit his quivering bottom lip and began walking in the direction he thought his house would be in. He and the fairy had taken so many turns he wasn't quite sure which way he had come from. Hugging himself he dodged around trees and began back tracking.

_xxx_

Paige winced when a twig sticking off a small branch broke against her skin while she rushed by. Where on earth had her brother gone? She swore she was going to kill him herself once she got a hold of him. The suns light was fading fast leaving Paige in a state of panic. She guessed she must have been out here for almost thirty minutes. On her search she'd managed to find one of Gabriel's small shoes sticking out from under a thick root pretruding from the ground, but that had just scared her more. Finding his shoe but no body to go along with it made her imagination assume the worst. Anything could be happening to him right now. She yelled out his name more desperately. If she didn't find him was she supposed to turn back?

She swallowed the lump forming in her throat before continuing to call out his name over and over. She didn't want to think of what she should do if she couldn't find him. Please lord, if there is a lord can you please help me find my little brother. Tears began to sting her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. Squaring her shoulders she tried to tell herself she needed to stay strong in order to find him.

"If I was a seven year old boy in a dark forest where would I go?"

She actually stopped to contemplate this question before continuing. She had no idea where he might be, especially since she wasn't familiar with this place. The light was now barely an orange tinge and the trees were becoming further apart as she continued forward. She knew this must mean she was getting deeper into the forest which wasn't good. The whole time she had been on her search she had not once seen a living animal, besides a few birds here and there. She knew it was only a matter of time before she did run into something. She could only pray that she ran into a deer and not a pack of wolves or a bear.

xxx

Tripping over a small rock Gabriel fell face first, scraping his knees. The sun had long since retired and he contemplated running blindly through the trees screaming for his sister. Why did he have to listen to that stupid fairy. He just wanted to go home and eat some of Ms. Bloom's homemade supper then cuddle into his warm bed. He didn't care if his dad whipped him with the belt he just wanted to go back home. Tears streamed down his face as he remained on his hands and knees staring down at the grass. He just repeated the same thing over in his head, he wanted to go home. Gabriel stopped sobbing when the sound of a man's quiet laugh erupted from behind him. He whirled around to find two well built young men standing in his path. It was hard to make out there features in the dark but he could tell they were both smiling down at him. The taller man on the right spoke first as he began to circle Gabriel.

"Well, well, well looks like we found our self a little snack Lucian and you were just complaining to me about your hunger, what a coincidence."

The other man laughed as he drew closer to Gabriel's feet.

"We shouldn't play with our food Jasper, let's just eat him dry!"

Gabriel could sense the Malice in the closer man's voice. His stomach tightened with fear at the mans words. Had he just said he wanted to eat him. Gabriel stood up shakily hurriedly looking around for an escape route before facing the man called Lucien.

"P-p-please don't hurt me...Im just trying to get home."

Jasper stroked his chin and halted Lucien from attacking the little boy by holding up his hand. It wasn't common that humans were found wandering the forest at night, especially not small little boys. If anything it was usually drunk men who had wandered into the forest looking for a place to sleep or a man and his whore who had decided to come to the forest for a quick secret fuck. Those if any were the only humans dumb enough to wander in these forests and those people never came back out. He eyed the boy curiously.

"Why are you out here in the forest when you should be home?"

Gabriel turned around and stared up at Jasper. The man towered over him causing an unfamiliar chill to go down his spine. His black eyes were darker then the night that surrounded them almost looking like their endless black depths were actually just holes where his eyes should be. Goosebumps arose on his skin but he tried his best to hide his growing fear.

"I-I got lost. There was a fairy leading me to its treasure but then I couldn't keep up with it and I got lost and it just left me out here...all alone."

He bit back the tears that threatened to spill before noticing a small opening between the two trees to the left of him. He immediately knew he could slide through there and begin running if needed. Jasper lifted an eyebrow.

"A fairy eh."

The man chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No my boy that wasn't a fairy that you encountered earlier, that sounds like a forest sprite. There one of the many bothersome, childish creatures of this forest and it probably just led you into the forest as a game. Though even I have to congratulate it on this one, without it me and my friend would have starved. There never was any treasure."

He let out a throaty chuckle while uncrossing his arms.

"It probably just wanted to get you lost before going off to cause more mischief elsewhere."

Gabriel's shoulders sagged at the mans words, how could he have been so stupid to follow some unknown creature into the forest? These men next to him were evil, he could sense it with every fiber of his being. But the question now was when should he run?

A low growl erupted from behind him.

"Jasper can we cease conversating with our food, I would very much like to eat now."

A nasty grin crossed Jaspers shadowed face making him look like the silhouette of a crazed maniac.

"Yes yes, go ahead Lucien, I'll eat what's left over."

Gabriel's eyes widened in horror, this was it. Before he let Lucien have time to jump at him from behind he slipped between the two trees to his left and began running. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he heard snarls and the sound of running footsteps close behind him. His heart raced as he leaped over small bushes and kept his stride as wide as possible while he ran.

"Sis! Help meee! Mommy!"

_xxx_

Paige sighed as she rested against the rough bark of a tree. Night had fallen and she could barely see where she was walking anymore. She must have been walking for a couple hours now and she could only imagine how stressed out her governess must be making the staff back at home. Barking orders at them to send more search dogs and to stop lazing around. Her father was probably downing small glasses of brandy as her governess listed to him everything that was wrong with Paige and that the reason for her and her brother's absence was probably her doing. Her mother was most likely sitting in her room crying, waiting until her precious baby Gabriel was found so she could smother him with her insufferable kisses. She laughed at the thought of all the commotion that must be happening at her house right now. She was feeling slightly amused when her thoughts were broken off by the sound of a high pitched scream. She whirled around in the direction the scream had come from and began running towards the scream. She could recognize that voice anywhere and she knew she needed to get to her brother before whatever it was he was screaming from got to him first.

"Gabriel!"

She dodged past trees and jumped over branches in her way.

"Gabriel! Gabriel where are you?"

She heard her brother scream her name. Pumping her legs as fast as she could she raced towards her brothers voice. Through the darkness she began to make out the outline of a dark figure running towards her. She braced herself as the small boy slammed into her bringing them both to the ground. He panted fiercely against her neck and before she had time to respond he jumped back up to his feet grabbing her hand and trying to pull her with him so they could start running. Gabriel wasn't quite strong enough to pull her up causing him to let out a terrified groan.

"Please sis get up! We have to go!"

His voice was hoarse cracking with every other word. Paige had never seen her brother like this so she knew their was probably a damn good reason for it. Jumping up from the ground as fast as she could she began running with him. It must have only been a second before something hard slammed into her backside bringing her to the ground. She groaned in pain as her head slammed against bottom of a tree trunk. Something was on top of her crushing her to the floor. The sound of her brothers' scream caused her to panic. She began trying to flail around to get whatever was on top of her away.

The sound of a deep growl vibrated against her ear causing her to stiffen underneath it. She tried to catch a glimpse of Gabriel using her peripheral vision but all she could makeout were shadows. What was happening to her brother? Was he being eaten by some wild animal she couldn't even imagine? She hadn't realized her silence through this whole mess until without thinking, she started to scream. She sucked in a harsh breath when whatever was on top of her slammed something hard against the back of her head, causing dark spots to blur her vision and her mouth to salivate. She silently prayed for someone to find them, for someone to save them from their soon death. Suddenly whatever had been on top of Paige let out an aggressive snarl and leapt off of her in another direction.

Towards her brother? She pushed herself off the floor and whirled around searching desperately for her brother. She could make out a dark mass of creatures fighting on the ground about ten feet away. It was too dark to make out what they looked like. All she could hear were there snarls and the sound of their deep breathing. She shot to her feet, her eyes focusing on the outline of a small body lying next to the mass of viscious animals. _Oh god please let him be alright_. Paige ran over to her brother's body and checked his neck for a pulse. His pulse was faster than it should have been but definitely strong. She felt a rush of relief fill her as she placed the unconscious boys arm over her shoulder and began to sprint as fast as she could from the animals that had attacked them. She must have twisted her ankle when the animal had knocked her to the floor, but she ignored the pain that shot through her ankle as she continued to flee the scene. Just as she was sure they were going to get away something hard slammed into her back causing her to lose her footing. Gabriel's body went rolling as she was pinned underneath a strong body.

"Did you think I'd let you get away that easy?"

The voice behind her was deep and raspy. _Like a...wait a man?_

Paige swallowed air as she stiffened underneath the sound of the man's voice. A man? She was so confused, hadn't she just been attacked by a wild animal? A low growl began to escape the man's throat as he drew his head closer to her face. She could feel his breath as it brushed against the nape of her neck. His breath was unusually cold sending shivers through her body. She was about to scream when the man on top of her was thrown off and she heard him yelp in surprise. She spun around on her back and looked up to see the outline of a man standing over her. He had long silver hair from what she could see and large dark wings spread behind him. He glared down at her before turning away and attacking the man he had thrown off of her. An angel? Gabriel began to groan as he came too.

"Ohhg...sis?"

Paige ran over to her brother and pulled him up to a stance beside her so they could start running.


	2. Chapter 2

Paige ran blindly through the trees pulling her brother by his wrist as he struggled to keep up. Images of the angel that had loomed over her were still freshly imprinted in her mind while she struggled to remember the correct direction home. She could still feel the way his eyes had bore into her making her feel helpless underneath him. Shaking her head she pushed the thought of what happened as far back as she could and concentrated on getting her and Gabriel home. They ran full speed for awhile until Paige was suddenly yanked back by Gabriel's limp body. She whirled around in surprise to find Gabriel had collapsed to his knees and was taking ragged breaths.

"Gabriel, are you okay?"

She ran to his side placing both hands on his shoulders. He looked exhausted; she could make out the dark circles under his eyes as his body trembled underneath her hands.

"Gabriel we'll be home in about half an hour if we keep up this pace. If you want we can speed walk for a little bit."

He looked at his hands as he pressed his palms against the wild grass.

"S-sis I'm so tired."

He feebly shook his head as his shoulders sagged and he remained where he was. Paige let out a sigh and cautiously looked around for any sign of danger that they might have to run from. The trees all shadowed each other and it would be nearly impossible to spot someone if they were trying to hide. Even though she didn't like the idea of stopping to rest she knew they were going to have too. She settled down in a sitting position next to her brother and hugged his small frame against her chest. She was the only person who knew exactly what to do when he was troubled. She stroked his hair and quietly hummed to him a nursery rhyme that they both found soothing.

"We'll rest here for a few minutes, but then we have to head home after kay?"

Gabriel nodded his head as he sagged against his sister. She hated knowing how exhausted her brother was, he was only seven and god knows they both wouldn't forget this night. She hummed the soothing nursery in a faint whisper hoping they were quiet enough to go unnoticed if anything passed. As minutes went by her brothers trembling subsided and she wondered if he had fallen asleep. She still waited a bit longer, things would be easier if he regained back some of his strength. They sat in cold silence when Paige suddenly heard what sounded like a faint tapping. At first it was a dull sound in the distance but then it grew louder and more persistent. Her head snapped up and she looked around suspiciously, it sounded like someone was tapping impatiently and it started to make her nervous. She felt her brother stiffen underneath her and she knew he could hear it too. She shook him off of her and they both stood up slowly. She spoke in a whisper so only he could hear.

"Gabriel we're going to start running again, this time we can't stop okay?"

Gabriel took her hand in a tight grasp and nodded.

"No matter what you hear don't look back."

He nodded again and with that Paige began running in the direction home pulling her brother behind her. To her dismay she heard the sound of a snarl not far behind and she picked up her pace as much more as she could. Her heart twisted when she heard the sound of someone chasing them and whoever it was was gaining on them fast. Please, please, please just go away. She chanted different sentences in her head hoping whatever it was chasing them would disappear. Her hopes were quickly crushed when someone slammed into her and pinned her against the trunk of a tree. The air rushed out of her lungs when her back was slammed into the trees rough bark. She gasped for air as she was lifted by the collar of her dress and came face to face with the angel from before. His black eyes stared through hers and he had sharp teeth that weren't human. He snarled and tightened his grip on her when she tried to struggle.

She pushed against his hard shoulders but he didn't budge an inch. Fear twisted in her stomach as she heard the sound of her brother's angry voice.

"Let her go! Let her go you stupid monster!"

She couldn't turn her head to look at Gabriel but from the corner of her eye she could see him punching the dark angel's thigh as he tried to fend for her. The man didn't seem to even take notice as he continued to hold her up by the collar and stare. His silver hair flowed a little past his shoulders and his dark black eyes showed no sign of emotion. His teeth were sharp and they looked like he could rip out her throat in an instant. This thought caused her to stiffen under his grasp. Maybe he could understand words, maybe she could try to beg her way out of this. Tears stung her eyes as she uttered words she knew would be useless.

"Please… I'm just trying to get my brother home."

To her surprise the man's grip loosened and he brought his face closer to hers. She could feel his hot breath as it caressed the skin around her lips. Fearing he was going to start eating her she closed her eyes and began to whimper. This was it, her life was going to be over before it had even started. She was never going to get the chance to marry like her dad had wanted, she was never going to get the chance to find love or to tell her governess off as she walked out the door when she moved out. All her dreams to travel to France and become a famous poet were lost. To her surprise she thought she could make out the sound of a chuckle as different thoughts bounced around in her head, she must be losing her mind. She slowly opened her eyes and realized in confusion that the deep chuckle she was hearing was coming from the man in front of her. She stared at him in confusion. Was he laughing because he was going to eat her? The man continued to stare at her and slowly placed her feet back on the ground. She even noticed that Gabriel had stopped hitting the man and was standing there confused by the amused laughter. She tried to square her shoulders and returned the cold gaze she was being given. The man leaned forward and brushed his lips against the tender part of her ear. His hot breathe caressed her skin and sent chills through her body. Was he going to bite her? She stiffened and prepared herself for the worst when to her shock the man began to speak in a silky sweet voice.

"If I find out you told anyone about what happened tonight I'll rip you and your brother's throat out_."_

With that he stepped away from her as his black raven wings spread out behind him. Paige's eyes widened as she watched this deadly creature jump up and sore upwards into the air propelling himself with his powerful black wings. If her body wasn't in so much pain and she couldn't feel the sting of the cold night air against her skin she would have been sure she was dreaming. She looked down at her brother who was still staring up at the sky in amazement. She wondered what he must be thinking right now, he had seen the same thing she had right? Without a word she gently grabbed her brother's small hand and began to walk in the direction of their house. He made a surprised yelp before realizing it was just his sister who had grabbed him. She was so shaken up by everything she just wanted to get to the safety of their home. As far as she was concerned she never wanted to step foot in this wretched place again. Running up to match her pace Gabriel looked up at her with his ocean blue eyes, they were full of curiosity more then fear.

"Sis... What was that?"

She slowly shook her head before speaking.

"I have no idea… Maybe were just dreaming."

Gabriel tightened his hand around hers.

"I hope not, I just want to see mommy again.

"Don't worry Gabriel we'll be home soon."

As they made their way out of the trees Paige could hear the sound of voices growing nearer. There was no mistaking the sound of her mother yelling at someone in between her sobs.

"You brainless halfwit, get more men out there now! I swear by the mercy of our Jesus if you don't storm in there and find my children I will rip your head off and feed it to the dogs!"

Her father seemed to be there too cause she heard his calm deep voice as he attempted to tame her distraught mother.

"Roseanne calm down we'll find Gabriel and Paige, we just need to be patient."

"Be patient! Be patient! Our children are out wandering in the forest at night where anything could happen to them! They could be... they could be…"

Her mother began to choke on her own words sobbing loudly enough for even Paige to hear. Over her mother's sobs another man began to speak, he sounded tired and above her mother's ceaseless whimpers she could barely understand what the man was saying.

"M-m'am... I'm sorry but the forest is just…too dangerous to search at night. Most of my men would refuse if I asked them to go searching for your little ones. There are things that wander these trees at night that aren't natural."

"Ohh you superstitious oaf you don't actually think I believe in that humdrum gossip do you?"

Before anymore could be said Paige and Gabriel walked out into the grass field. She spotted her father and mother a few yards away underneath the light of a lit lamp. Her father and mother stood across from a large light skinned man, he wore a black overcoat with silver buttons going down it and had a twirled mustache that curved around to his nostrils. Her parents must have gotten the police involved and she could tell this man was the chief. His eyes widened as he was the first to spot them coming out of the trees. Noticing the man's expression her parents followed his gaze and turned towards them. Her mother let out a yelp of surprise when she realized that her missing children had erupted from the forest.

"Mommy!"

Gabriel sprang forward in exhausted excitement and practically threw himself in his mother's outstretched arms. He curled his small arms around her neck and began sobbing into her shoulder.

"Mommy I missed you so much."

Everyone seemed shocked by their sudden arrival out of the forest. Her father stood by her mother's side and looked over the cuts on Gabriel's knees, they were caked with dirt and dry blood and needed to be tended to immediately. He straightened his posture as he glared over at Paige who was walking towards them slowly. The familiar words rang through her mind as she tried to decide what to tell them.

"_**If I find out you told anyone about what happened tonight I'll rip you and your brother's throat out." **_

She felt panic well up inside of her as her father began to yell out angrily at her.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Paige looked down at her muddy black boots, her mother had gotten her them for when she would go outside to play with her brother. They were once polished but now dirt caked the bottom half of them and scuff marks visibly decorated there surface. What was she supposed to tell her dad? She couldn't tell them that they had been attacked by a pair of Neanderthal men and an Angel with black wings had rescued them before threatening to rip her and her brother's throat out if she breathed a word of what happened to anyone. Her thoughts were cut off when her brother began to angrily defend her from his mother's arms.

"Its not her fault! I was the one who ran into the forest!"

Her father turned towards Gabriel and rounded on him.

"What in gods name were you thinking Gabriel! You put your life and your sisters life in danger!"

Remembering the forest sprite that the man from earlier had talked about Gabriel hid his face in his mothers shoulders. He felt ashamed to have fallen for that creatures lie and had almost gotten both of them killed in the process. His mother misunderstood Gabriel's expression and in motherly worry turned on there father.

"Don't you dare yell at him right now! Our children have obviously been through alot and they're tired and need medical attention. Where is Lily? We need her to tend to there wounds immediately."

Her mother furrowed her brow in sympathetic concern and locked eyes with her husband,"I know you were worried but right now lets get them cleaned up and then we can all talk about this."

Her father stood stiff and their parents locked eyes for a few seconds before he let out a sigh of defeat and began walking towards the house. Paige was relieved she didn't have to come up with some ridiculous story on the spot. Letting out a sigh she watched her father storm into the Victorian house before suddenly being turned on by her mother.

"Paige! You go get cleaned up and go straight to bed. Tomorrow morning I want you to be the first one downstairs and you are going to explain to me and your father exactly what happened today, you understand?"

Paige nodded weakly and closely followed her fuming mother inside the house. Her mother held Gabriel tightly to her shoulder as she went looking for Lily. Lily was one of their cooks who happened to know a few things about medicine, she would always tend to Gabriels wounds if he got hurt from playing outside. Paige sped walked past the dining hall and went up the stairs best she could without limping, she ignored the stares from a couple passing maids and went directly to her room. Slamming her bedroom door behind her she limped over to her bedside table and flicked a match until the orange flames enveloped its tip and slowly lit her bedside lantern. She felt afraid she was going to find the black winged angel standing in the shadows waiting for her but thankfully as the room lit up she found she was alone. She sat at the edge of her bed and worked off her muddy shoes, sadly her mother was most likely going to have her throw them away even though they were her favorite. She slowly peeled off her torn white stockings and changed into a plain white night gown that she retrieved from her dresser. Her ginger hair fell over her shoulders in tangles and she worked the leaves and twigs still in her hair out. She desperately needed a bath, her hands were filthy and the tips of her polished nails had dirt stuck between them, she knew her face must look like she had had mud pies for supper. Everything would just have to wait until tomorrow, right now she was to tired to have one of the maids set her up a bath of hot water. She dimmed her lantern beside her bed and slowly crawled underneath her comforter. She wasn't quite sure what story she was going to tell to her parents but she'd figure it out after she got some rest. She rolled over and faced her large bedroom window which still had the curtains tied open by a silk ribbon on each side, her body stiffened when she realized she wanted the curtains closed. The light from the moon dimly lit up the night and all she could see from her bed were the stars that sprinkled the night sky. She threw back her covers and aggressively drew the curtains shut before cuddling back into her bed. She felt safer when she knew no winged creature could look in on her while she slept. As the minutes passed exhaustion finally caught up with Paige and she slowly dozed off. Right before she fell into sleep she could swear she heard a silky voice whisper in her ear... "Thats a good girl."

* * *

The next morning Paige groaned as the sun peaked through her window and lit up the bedroom. It must have been around six which was a little earlier for her to wake up then usual. A familiar pain pulsed in her ankle as she tried to turn away from the sun. Her eyes felt grimy and heavy with exhaustion and the memory of what had happened lastnight slowly sank in. Her eyes shot open when she remembered the man with black wings and she pushed herself up onto her elbows and faced her open window in shock. Hadn't she closed the curtains lastnight? She looked around her room before returning her gaze to the gaping window. A fresh breeze blew her way causing her body to shiver. She threw back the covers and ran over to the window, everything outside looked like it should which somehow didn't make her feel any better. One of the servants was in the field picking fresh flowers to set on the breakfast table and Nina one of the maids was hanging out laundry on a line to dry. Maybe one of the maids had opened her window, though that would be a first if they did. Even so it seemd to be a normal Monday morning and she knew she'd have to sit at the table and explain why she had been in the forest with Gabriel soon. As she began trying to think of a story to tell her parents a quiet rapid knock broke her out of her thoughts. She turned to her bedroom door and waited for whoever was knocking to speak.

"Excuse me, Ms. Forrester are you awake?"

Paige let out a releived breath and went to open her door.

"Yes is something the matter?"

She opened the door to find a small girl in her late 20s looking down respectfully at the floor. She wore the traditional plain black dress that fell to her ankles and a white apron. She was Paige's favorite maid of the house. She was always really nice and never seemed to judge her. And because she was the only person in the house closest to her age she felt like in some ways they could relate, even though they never talked much cause Iris was always being barked at by the other workers to do more chores. The girl slowly lifted her head and met Paige's gaze.

"No I just wanted to let you know that I filled the bath with hot water and you can take a bath before breakfast if you like."

Paige smiled at the young maid, she knew Iris had done this of her own accord as a favor for her. She would have been fairly upset if she had to sit at the breakfast table still covered in lastnights grime.

"Ah thank you so much Iris I forgot I really need one. Can you inform my mother and father if they wake up that i'll be downstairs after my bath?"

The maid looked pleased at the appreciation she received from Paige and nodded with a slight smile before turning to go downstairs to resume her daily chores. Paige slowly closed the door behind her and walked over to her closet. She scanned over the variety of different clolored dresses to choose from. Her parents had given her so many new dresses over the last couple years that her closet was cramped with them. Some of the dresses were strictly only for her to wear to church, others were only for her to wear when going out in public, and others were to wear around the house. Paige pulled out a simple pink gown and retrieved some undergarments from her dresser before heading to the bathroom to wash. She draped the dress she was going to wear over the Byōbu setup in the large bathroom and scattered the clothes she was wearing amongst the floor. Slowly she dipped her feet into the steaming water and sank down into a sitting position. The water felt so good against her cold grimy skin. She slowly massaged her aching ankle then washed away the dirt smudges on her body with a soft sponge. The smell of vanilla soap filled her nostrils as she layed back and absorbed the freshness of the tub before moving onto her hair. For her hair she used a lavender shampoo and thoroughly washed every speck of dirt that could have been in her hair out. As she finished washing up she wrapped herself with a towel and shook out her clean hair. Quickly drying herself off she grabbed her undergarments from off the Byōbu and dressed into her fresh clothes. She brushed the tangles out of her dark orange hair before putting it up in a bun and heading downstairs for breakfast. During her wash she had thought up a decent story that wasn't entirely a lie, she was just going to leave out some facts. Descending the staircase she heard the sound of her mothers voice and the clank of silverware meaning breakfast had already been served. She entered the dining hall to to see Gabriel, her mother, and father all sitting at the table enjoying their breakfast. Her father looked up from the sausage halfway to his mouth when she entered the room.

"Ahh, so you decided to join us."

Paige nodded before settling into a chair across from her brother. She quickly examined Gabriel before serving herself from the food set in the center of the large table. Gabriel looked washed up and it looked like the events from lastnight hadn't even affected him. He hungrily stuffed a piece of egg into his mouth before chewing on a piece of toast. She quickly looked away when her fathers voice boomed across the table directed at her.

"So Paige care to elaborate why your brother says he followed a forest sprite into the forest where you and him were attacked by, what was it, oh yes vampires and then a man with black wings then rescued you?"

Paige stared back at her father in complete horror. Her face turned to a complete white and fear began to creep into the pit of her stomach. The familiar words from last night echoed through her head once again.

"**_If I find out you told anyone about what happened tonight I'll rip you and your brother's throat out."_**

Had he mean't Gabriel wasn't allowed to tell anyone either? Why hadn't she thought of this before? She swallowed the forming lump in her throat and glanced at her brother before returning her fathers gaze. Gabriel had stopped eating and was waiting for her to reply as well.

"I-I dont know why he said that. Thats not what happened at all father."

In shock Gabriel dropped his fork onto his plate causing the room to echo with the loud clank of silver ware. Paige ignored her brother and continued.

"Yesterday from my bedroom window I had saw Gabriel run into the forest, I didnt want him to wander to far and get lost so I tried to catch up with him so I could bring him back home. But when I finally got to the forest Gabriel had wandered so far in I had to go looking for him and we both got lost. It wasn't until a couple hours of looking for him that I finally found him...and thats when we were attacked by a couple of drunk men..."

Paige's mom sucked in a horrified gasp, but remained quiet waiting for Paige to continue. Paige squared her shoulders as she let the lie flow off of her tongue.

"I was so scared I thought it was sure to be the end, but somehow me and Gabriel lost them after running around trees and putting more and more distance between us and them. Finally after running for what seemed like ages I remembered the way home and that's when you saw us come out of the forest."

Paige finally looked away from her father scared he was going to be able to tell she was lying. She looked down at her plate and waited for somebody to say something. It was her father who spoke.

"I see. Gabriel I want you to go to your room for lying to us."

Gabriel looked at his father in shock.

"B-but I'm not lying! She's lying father, I'm telling the truth."

"I said go! I'll deal with you later."

Gabriel stood up from his chair and glared down at his sister who continued staring down at her plate before storming off to his room.

She examined a black speck on her white plate trying to find a reason not to meet her parents gazes. This time it was her mother who spoke.

"Paige I want you to eat your breakfast and then return to your room. Me and your father have much to discuss about both or your punishments."

Paige nodded and slowly began to serve herself a couple sausages and began to butter herself a piece of toast. She wasn't really hungry but she wanted to get back to the safety of her room as soon as possible.

* * *

Settling herself back onto her bed Paige couldn't help but feel guilty about lying to her parents and making them think Gabriel was a liar. Not only did she feel guilty but she wondered if that monster from last night had meant what he said about ripping their throats out. She really hoped everything he said only applied to her, he had never once mentioned Gabriel, he hadn't even acknowledged Gabriels presence. Even so no matter how much she tried to reason that his words only applied to her she couldn't shake off the bad feeling her instincts were telling her. She listened to the sound of the birds chirping outside and slowly stood up and walked over to her window. She made a mental note to ask Iris if she had opened her window last night. Looking out towards the trees she tried to see if she could detect any movement in the sky or around the trees but saw none. The forest held a creepy aura to it, just looking at the silent trees made her want to shiver. Now that she thought about it she had never seen any sort of wildlife come out of that forest. Not even when she had been wandering those trees for hours had she come across any sort of animal. Was that normal? Then again were men with black wings and razor teeth normal? she snorted at her silly question. Then she remembered what her father had said at the breakfast table about Gabriel following a forest sprite and vampires? Gabriel had obviously seen more then she had, making it even worse that he had told the whole household about lastnight. she tightened her hands into fists and coldly stared at the never ending forest. She'd be damned if she was going to let anything hurt her little brother. She turned on her heels when she heard someone walk into her room. Her governess stood at the doorway a look of disapproval apparent on her face.

"Ms. Forrester I know your a troublemaking sort of girl but I did not expect you to try and miss your English class."

Paige's eyes widened, she had completely forgotten about her daily classes. Every weekday her and her governess would go over English, then Latin, then she'd have lunch at noon then she'd go over math and then piano lesson before retiring for the day. That was her strict schedule and she couldn't beleive she had forgotten.

"I'm sorry Ms. Ellis , I completely forgot after all that cammotion from lastnight. I promise it won't happen again."

Paige slightly bowed her head in apology. She heard her governess make snooty hmph before she spoke.

"Well come on, even though were behind schedule English lesson hasn't ended."

Paige stood up straight and followed her governess to the study room. It seemed like today was going to be like any other day and she dreaded it.


	3. Chapter 3

Running her slender fingers through her bright orange hair Paige slowly settled herself onto the stubby bench in front of the piano and let her nimble fingers move rhythmically over its keys. Today she was free to play whatever song she desired since Mrs. Ellis had been pulled out of the music room by her mother so they could probably go sip tea and discuss Paige's punishment. At first she let her fingers play a slow melodic tune that brought on a depressing mood in the room then she began to move her hands more swiftly playing more difficult notes causing the song to sound more aggressive. She closed her eyes and slowly swayed to the rhythm of the song she was playing. She was making it up as she went, already having memorized every note and sound from the piano she didn't need to concentrate on where her hands should be. She had been introduced to playing music when she was 4 and almost everyday since then she had been taught piano lessons from different teachers. Over the years she found she preferred to play piano pieces that she had made up, over the classical compositions such as Liebestraum written by Franz not that she didn't think the piece wasn't beautiful because it was, but she was also skilled at writing pieces and she preferred hers over any of Beethoven or Mozart's compositions.

After awhile her hands began to relax and she began to play a tune that sounded a lot like Comptine d' une autre ete by Yann Tierson. Playing the piano was one of her skills that she had surprised her whole family with and pretty much her only skill. But what could she say, she loved the art of music and she also appreciated the art of writing. Though she would never dare tell her parents of how she dreamed of being a romanticist poet. Not only were women like her supposed to marry and create bratty little offspring but as her life had already been planned out for her it was her duty to devote her life to pleasing her (in her case) future husband and making sure their children grew up with the proper education. Also poets and writers were often poor and lord have mercy her parents would not be to pleased with that choice of occupation. Slowly ending the song she let out a sigh and raised her foot off the right pedal. Slowly raising herself from the bench she peered out the large window that had allowed the retiring sun to cast its dying light into the small music room.

The sky was different shades of pink and orange and she stared at the wisps of clouds as they slowly drifted away. Walking over to the large window she rested her hands on the window ceil and leaned forward. She rarely got to see the sun set anymore since she was always so busy with her lessons or reading. It was a shame too since usually when the sun was setting the sky was at its most beautiful. She loved how the different shades of pink, orange and the pastel purple faded into each other like they had been painted upon a canvas. It almost seemed like a sky this beautiful didn't belong, just because her life was so bland it almost felt out of place. She quickly turned around at the sound of the music room door opening and found her mother slowly walk into the room followed by her father. Her mother's eyes locked onto Paige as she gave her a disapproving look for not practicing the piano like she was supposed to be doing. Its not like she needed the practice but I guess staring out the window wasn't considered spending her time productively either. Her mother gracefully walked over to a floral sofa chair and sat down with her hands resting in her lap. She stared expectantly at her husband before he then signaled for Paige to take a seat. Paige had never known how her mother was able to carry herself so graciously especially since Paige had always been known to trip over things or knock things over while she walked by. She stiffly made her way to the piano seat and waited for her father to speak. He continued to stay standing in the middle of the room and was staring out the window before turning to Paige and clearing his throat.

"Ahem. So Paige as you obviously know I'm here to tell you what me and your mother have decided to do with you."

Her eyes narrowed at the way her father chose his words. What did he mean do with her, as if she was some annoying pet that they wanted to get rid of.

" Before I go on I want to explain to you that were only doing what we think is best for you. The way you handled things yesterday showed us alot about your priorities and your maturity. Not to mention the complaints I keep getting from Ms. Ellis are begining to worry me."

Furrowing her brow Paige couldn't help but be confused. What was he talking about her "priorities"? How had anything she'd done shown them her maturity level let alone her priorities. Her father held his hands behind his back and gave her a look like what he was about to say was final, she knew that look all to well.

"Paige if you were a responsible adult you would have told someone that Gabriel had gone into the forest instead of just running in their by yourself-" Holding up his hand to shush her from interupting. "-Ah- let me finish. Yesterday you were very lucky to escape those couple of drunks, they could have really hurt you." He shifted his weight uncomfortably onto one leg. " But by your actions me and your mother have decided that you might not know whats best for yourself. We don't want you making the wrong choices in the future therefore to prevent something like this from ever happening again we've decided that it would be wisest if I chose your suitor for you and until then we're going to send you to the St. Peters private catholic school where youll be staying until next summer."

Paige's eyes practically bulged out of her head with her fathers last statement. Had she just heard him right? Without much thought she stood up from the bench stomping her left foot defiantly.

"You are not arranging my marriage for me! I am not a small girl anymore I will choose which man I want to marry!"

Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence which wasn't how she'd intended to sound. She had never had a reason to yell before so her throat wasn't used to it. Her father scowled at her reaction.

"Paige it is obvious to us that you don't know what you want. We want you to have a secure life ahead of you and this will most certainly help you."

"How would YOU choosing my husband for me help me?"

His scowl deepened, in a normal situation he would not let his daughter raise her voice to him like that.

"I know whats best for you" he said flatly.

Tears threatened to fill Paige's eyes but she held them at bay the best she could. Not knowing what to say she let out a low whisper.

"I refuse."

Though her voice was low everyone in the room had heard her. She stared down at her fathers feet refusing to look him in the eye. She didn't want her parents to see that she was about to cry. Her fathers angry voice boomed across the room at her, she had never so openly defied him.

"You have no choice! You need to learn what it means to be a Forrester, theres responsibilities that come with being my daughter. I will not have you embaress this family anymore then you already have."

Paige's head snapped up meeting her fathers stubborn gaze. Was that the real reason he had decided to choose a husband for her, because he thought she embaressed the family? She slowly shook her head at him, she didn't care if he sent her to private school for the rest of her life, she refused to marry a complete stranger and bare their children.

"I won't marry anyone."

"You will marry who I say you will marry!"

They glared at each other for a good 10 seconds before her mothers voice broke through the silence. She had forgotten her mother was even in the room.

"Now now Paige I know your upset but look at it this way, your cousin Elizabeth had an arranged marriage when she was your age and shes as happy as she's ever been."

Paige hated to admit it but her mother was right. It was actually very common for people to have arranged marriages and her cousin on her mothers side had been forced to marry a man she hadn't even known. Her cousin was very fortunate to have ended up with one of the sweetest men Paige had ever met. His name was Nicholas Sayden, he came from a wealthy respectable family and he treated Elizabeth like she was the only women in the world for him, they grew to respect and love each other deeply. But even Paige knew that the chances of that happening to her were one in a million. Most of the noble men she met were self absorbed and didn't share any of her passions. Furiously shaking her head she turned towards her mother who was in the same position she had been in when she had first sat down.

"I don't care about Elizabeth's marriage this is my life and I will marry who I want."

"Paige we're not going to sit here and argue with you, whats done is done." Her father turned to leave the room when they all froze at the sound of what sounded like a window shattering and her brothers shrill scream echoed from downstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

Pushing past her father she raced down the hallway towards the sound of Gabriels scream. The whole conversation she had been having with her parents became lost, all she could think about was what if. What if that "angel" from last night had gotten into the house. Panic swelled inside her mind like a leech. Swiftly she ran down the stairs and into the dining room. She spotted her brother instantly. There lying halfway underneath the table was his unconscious body. She ran to his side pulling his frail body towards her and resting his head on her lap. Had she just seen what she feared would happen? Right as she caught Gabriel in her sight she saw a flash of black sore past the now shattered window. It was for only an instant but she was willing to bet it was him... Worriedly staring down at Gabriel she noticed his skin was a deathly pale and even though he was unconscious she could feel his body jerk every once in awhile. A small stream of blood was running down his temple painting down the side of his cheek. What happened? She wanted to cry because he looked so weak but she couldn't bring herself to, not yet.

Her parents both ran into the room just then. Her dad stood in the doorway, eyes wide with shock when he spotted Gabriels unconscious body in Paige's lap. Her mother ran from his side and knelt down next to them. "Oh my baby, what happened?" She brought a hand to her mouth tears already filling her mothers eyes. Paige looked down at Gabriel. She noticed his face was obviously more gaunt then usual. Looking back over at her father she frantically yelled, "Call a doctor, he needs medical attention now!" Her father kept his eyes on Gabriels form for a second longer before running from the room to seek help.

Gabriels bright blonde hair was matted against his forehead sticking to the sweat that clang to his skin. Brushing his bangs to the side Paige stared down at his innocent face. His ocean blue eyes were closed, framed by his light blonde lashes and his usually rosy cheeks were paper white. She wanted to groan in frustration but instead she let the now arriving Nina take Gabriel and rest him in her own lap as she dabbed at the blood running down his face with a warm towel. Paige stood up and slowly walked over to the shattered window. The glass shards crunched underneath her black dress shoes.

The glass had broken in and littered the floor around her meaning someone from the outside had broken it. Night time was almost upon them but it was still light enough to see outside. She examined the yard beyond the window but saw nothing unusual. The trimmed grass outside her house swayed in the wind and the white picket fence that surrounded the place looked undisturbed and still. Paige didn't have to wonder to much to know what must have happened. That "angel" or most likely "demon" from last night must know that the secret was out. He must have spotted Gabriel alone and attacked him through the window. But that didnt explain why he had left so suddenly. Did this mean her and Gabriels fates were sealed? How could she ever hope to fight that thing and survive... She stood silently in the corner watching as the doctor made his way into the room carrying a large case filled with his equipment. She tilted her head to the left while watching the scene play out. That hadn't taken him long...

He first started his examination on Gabriel by checking his heart rate and flashing lights in and out of the boys eyes. After he concluded that it was okay to move Gabriel to a bed Nina the maid carried Gabriel into one of the rooms upstairs followed by the doctor and her parents. She didn't bother to go with them not wanting to get in the way of anything. Staying where she was she watched as maids bustled in and out of the hallways. This was definitely going to be the households main source of gossip since nothng exciting ever happened around here. Letting out a sigh she fell against the wall and stared down at the mess of glass. If she wanted to be of help she should probably sweep up the shards. Breaking out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps she looked up and took in the sight of Ms. Ellis coming into the room. Her governess walked stiffly towards her barely glancing at the shattered window.

"What happened here?"

Paige slightly shrugged. "I'm not really sure... Gabriel's unconscious and he's being looked at by a doctor in the other room."

The plain brown haired womans face went pale as she took in what Paige had just said.

"Is Gabriel alright?"

"I honestly don't know Ms. Ellis, he didn't look well."

The governess shook her head and finally began to take notice of the glass littered under there feet.

"Were... we robbed of anything?"

She thought over the question as she looked around the room. Nothing seemed to be out of place that she could tell. This was the same room she had had breakfast in that morning, the dining room. A large rosewood table sat in the center of the room decorated with a garnet colored table cloth and purple flowers from the field were set in a vase at its center. Two rosewood china cabinets filled with decorative wines and drinking glasses were set against opposite walls and a small chandelier hung above on the high ceiling.

"I don't think so. Whoever it was that shattered the window is gone now..."

_I hope_. She added to that sentence in her head.

The governess seemed to relax at these words and excused herself from Paige's presence following a maid towards Gabriel's room.

xx

She turned away from the doorway and continued staring out the window. How could this actually be happening. After the whole normality of today it had been like last night could have been a dream, but she wasn't going to fool herself. Something not right was going on here and she needed to come up with some kind of idea on what she should do. If that thing really was out to kill them then should she convince her parents to move away from this house? That could be a start but in order to convince them she would have to tell them the whole story of what had happened last night.

She shook her head.

They would probably believe her to be crazy. Instead of private school she'd be sent to a mental hospital. Letting out a sigh she stepped away from the window and walked out into the large waiting room. She had to admit she didnt feel as scared for herself as she should. It was Gabriel she was scared for, he didnt deserve this. She thought back to those chilling words that that "demon" had said to her. He had been so terrifyingly real... What was he? And why didnt he just kill her last night? That was something that bothered her, it just didnt seem right. Why hadnt he just killed them both right there, he had the chance to, but yet he gave them a chance to live. Could that mean maybe he wasnt pure evil?

"Uuuuugh!" Shaking her head vigorously she tugged at the hair that fell loose from her bun. Dammit things just didn't make sense anymore. Her whole perspective on life had changed in just twenty four hours. How could she be sure what was real anymore? Gabriel had said something about forest sprites and vampires, what the hell had he been talking about. Paige's gaze snapped towards the staircase when the sound of multiple screams ripped through the air. They had come from upstairs. Her eyes went wide, she had thought Gabriel would be safe from that thing if he was surrounded by people.

Rushing from where she stood she climbed the stairs hurriedly. Just as she reached the top Ms Ellis and two maids rushed by followed by her parents. Their was blood smeared across the front of her fathers gray suit and his eyes were practically bugging out of his head. He was competely drenched in sweat like he had just ran a marathon without stopping. She wanted to ask what had happened but she noticed immediately that they had left Gabriel behind. He was still in that room! Without even acknowledging them besides a quick glance she ran past them towards the room they had come from. Her mother made a grab at her but missed her arm by an inch.

"Paige no don't go in there! It's Gabriel, stop!"

Paige rushed into Gabriel's room so quickly she didnt have time to realize that a body was lying just behind the doorway. Her foot came in contact with something large causing her to topple over. She fell onto something stiff and wet before hitting her face on the hardwood floor. A stinging pain shot through her nose when it made contact with the floor. Quickly pushing herself up to a stance she noticed a puddle of blood forming just a few centimeters from where she had landed. Looking down she realized the thing she had tripped over was the doctor. There lying dead on the floor was the doctor from earlier. An open wound in his neck flowed freely with blood, his eyes were still open but they were unmoving. He looked like he had been absolutely mortified before death took him.

"Oh my go..." Paige keeled over about to let out the contents of her breakfast when a loud banging noise caught her attention. In the corner of the room just near the bed was the man with black wings holding her brother against the wall by his throat strangling the life out of him. Paige didn't stand there long enough to examine the differences that were apparent on Gabriel. She rushed forward and tried to pull the mans strong arms away from her brother. She didnt manage to move the mans arms but her interference at least surprised him enough to look away from Gabriel towards her and for him to loosen his grip. In the second that he turned away Gabriel brought his nails over the mans black eyes and was dropped to the floor as the winged creature took a step back. Paige made a move to go to Gabriels side but stood rooted to the spot when she took in Gabriels appearance

Her brother was covered in blood and his once ocean blue eyes were a dark gray. His teeth were sharp, stained red with blood and before she could examine the creature that resembled her brother anymore it ran over to the window and dived out into the night. The sound of shattering glass pierced the air and she just stood still as the sound of the boys running footsteps faded away.


	5. Chapter 5

Paige stood glued to the floor making no sign of movement as she stared at the shattered window her brother had just dived through. Her mouth hung open while her mind tried to grasp what she had just seen. None of this could be real. Her mind wasn't really comprehending what she had just witnessed, it just wasn't possible. Her life was supposed to be boring and predictable nothing like this was ever supposed to happen.

A loud snarl coming from her left broke Paige out of her thoughts as she whirled around to face the demon that stood before her. Without wavering, his black eyes watched her intently. Bearing his sharp teeth together he slowly crouched downwards to the floor as if he was going to lunge forward and rip out her throat. Backing up against the wall Paige tried to put as much distance between them as possible. His deep snarl quickly turned into a hiss as he watched her cower against the wall. He was definitely angry, she could see it in his midnight eyes. If his snarl wasn't already hint enough of his anger, his eyes screamed hatred and she knew it was directed towards her.

His fierce gaze didn't last long, quickly his gaze redirected to the doctors stiff body that lied on the wooden floor by the doorway. Blood oozed from an open wound in his neck causing a puddle to form around his head. Paige followed the demons gaze resting her eyes on the pool of blood forming. She had never been to good with blood so watching as the crimson liquid spilled onto the floor made her stomach start to turn again. She tried not to let the weak feeling in her stomach get to her as she cautiously watched the demon circle the doctors limp body. It was like something out of a horror story, he knelt down on one knee and sniffed the wound on the doctors neck. If the circumstances had been different it was possible Paige might have found this unusual man with black wings beautiful, but instead the sight of him only struck fear into her. His long silver hair strayed past his shoulders shadowing his face as he knelt over the body. Placing his hands on each side of the doctors head he snapped the mans neck to the left, breaking it. There was a brief sound of bones in the mans neck cracking and without meaning to Paige let out a gasp covering her mouth with her hands. Whatever this thing was it wasn't a man it was a cold blooded killer.

Tears spilled over onto her cheeks blurring her vision. She could barely make out the demons figure as he rose from the body and slowly walked towards her. She couldn't even make herself feel scared that he was drawing closer. Everything just felt numb and she knew if this thing decided to kill her there was nothing she could do about it. Refusing to look the creature in the eye she stared down at her blurry feet.

She cringed as far back into the wall as possible when he aggressively slammed both his hands against the wall trapping her between them. Closing her eyes she drew in ragged uneven breathes waiting for him to finally lash out at her. As the seconds passed and all she could hear was the sound of her own ragged breathing she knew he was waiting for her to open her eyes. Even though they weren't touching she could feel his presence shadowing over her. The only thing that worried her now was, why? Why should she have to open her eyes while he killed her? She'd be damned if she was going to give him that satisfaction after he had just murdered that poor doctor and did god knows what to her brother. The memory of her brother before he had thrown himself out the window flashed through her mind. God what had he done to her brother? Why was he just standing there watching her? Was her brother safe? Why was SHE just standing there? Questions that needed to be answered began to run through her head.

With her eyes still closed she ducked underneath one the demons arms before opening them and running for the door. She needed to find her brother, he might be bleeding to death outside waiting for someone to help him. Her run was cut short when the demon suddenly blocked her path and forcefully pushed her to the floor. His knees dug into her thighs painfully holding her down. She squirmed underneath him taking hits at his face before he pinned her arms to her sides. Spatting her words at him she tried to wriggle from his grasp.

"LET ME GO!"

When her efforts to get free failed she finally looked up at the demon that was holding her down. Letting in a weak surprised gasp she stared into his black eyes. She had expected him to be readying to bite her or to look menacing like he was about to rip her throat out but instead she found that he just looked... puzzled? His eyes scanned over her face as he seemed to be thinking about something. What could he possibly be thinking about at a time like this? The question rang through her mind before the demons gaze quickly turned from confused to pissed again. A low growl slipped from his throat as he leaned down to her ear just like he had before and spoke. Instead of whispering, this time he spoke in crystal clear voice that sounded even more threatening.

"If you ever get in my way again, I will kill you!"

Before she could think on the demons words he dug his nails into her arm forcing her to cry out in pain. Letting out a frustrated growl he effortlessly pushed himself off of her and stormed out of the room with a swiftness no human could possess. Paige slowly sat up cupping the now open wound on her arm and stared at the empty doorway waiting to see if he would reappear. The silence in the house stretched on until she decided he wasn't coming back. Pushing herself off the floor she stared down at the dead body lying only a few feet from her. The mans eyes stared sightlessly ahead with no sign of life behind his dark pupils. She shivered with disgust at the growing pool of blood and sped walked out of the room. Slowly walking down the stairs she made her way back into the dining room.

Everything looked as it should except for the shards of glass scattered under the window. She wondered if that's where the demon exited. Slowly she made her way further into the room cautious in case anything decided to jump out at her. Where was everybody? The ghostly silence that hung in the air made it all to obvious that everyone had fled the house, even her own parents. Paige couldn't help but feel lost, should she try to find someone? Her question was quickly forgotten when the sound of a shrill scream rang through the house coming from the front yard. Hesitantly Paige walked out into the waiting room and flung open the doors that led out to the front of her house. Swiftly skipping down the porch stairs two at a time she spotted her mother in the lawn clinging to her fathers vest as they stared down at the sight of Ms. Ellis. Her mangled body lied a couple yards from their feet. Paige didn't even have to check a pulse to know that the woman was dead. Her head was twisted in an unusual manner and her arms and legs were positioned like she had been thrown to the ground like a rag doll.

She ran over to her traumatized parents and embraced them in a fierce hug. Her mother jumped in fear before realizing that it was just Paige who had hugged her. She could only imagine what they must be thinking. Digging her face into her fathers chest he wrapped his arms around her and her mother. With her ear pressed against him she listened as her fathers shaky voice erupted from his chest.

"A few of the maids ran into town to alert the police. Is everyone okay?"

Paige looked up into her fathers fear stricken face, he looked just as disturbed as she was.

"Father... what about Gabriel? Do you know if he's okay?"

She felt her father stiffen within her embrace.

"Paige... you don't know what I just saw... I have never witnessed anything this unholy in all my life. Whatever happened to Gabriel...I-I think he's gone."

He choked on his last sentence as tears spilled from her fathers eyes. She had never seen her father cry before and for some reason the sight of his tears squeezed Paige's heart. But it wasn't just the sight of his tears that caused her chest to pain it was his last sentence that really made her want to cry out. Her father was wrong she had just seen Gabriel escape through the window. Even though he didn't look like himself it had still been her little brother.

"No you're wrong, I just saw Gabriel escape from that demon. He jumped through the window in the spare bedroom, he's still alive."

Her parents both looked down at Paige with distraught confusion apparent on their faces.

"Demon?"

"The man with the black wings! I distracted him and Gabriel managed to escape through the window."

Her fathers brow furrowed in worry at Paige's words.

"Paige... we didn't see anyone with black wings. It was Gabriel who attacked Mr. Linskey and Ms. Ellis..."

Paige shook her head at her fathers words. He must have hit his head, how could they not have seen the winged demon choking Gabriel against the wall before they had all rushed out of the room. Turning to her mother she hoped for a better response but only found her mother staring down at her with her fathers same worried expression. She backed out of her fathers embrace and looked up at both of them.

"You didn't see him being attacked? What are you talking about, Gabriel didn't attack anyone it was that monster!"

Tears began to fill her mothers eyes as she stared at Paige and croaked out a response.

"Honey, it was Gabriel who attacked us. We never saw a demon except...except for your brother. When he woke up...he-he wasn't himself. He attacked Ms. Ellis and when your father and Mr. Linskey tried to pull him off of her, he attacked Mr. Linskey."

Paige shook her head, what they were saying wasn't possible. Something else must have happened, they were being delirious. Gabriel would never attack Ms. Ellis, in fact Gabriel was always afraid of that woman. Besides Gabriel was a seven year old boy, how could they honestly believe he was the reason for Mr. Linskey and Ms. Ellis's death. Before Paige could defend her brother and get some sense into them the sound of approaching horses sounded from the dirt road that lyed beyond the white picket fence. She turned towards the sound to find a group of men in uniforms approaching them on horseback. She recognized the man leading them as the man who had been arguing with her mother last night. The man with the twirled mustache looked down at Ms. Ellis' mangled body in horror as he approached them.

"What in gods name happened here?"

Her father unwrapped his arms from around her mother and walked up to the man with the twirled mustache.

"My son... h-he murdered his governess and Dr. Linskey..."

The man looked at him disbelievingly.

"That small boy?"

Her father nodded without hesitation, a look of anxiety lining his features. Paige couldn't believe he honestly was blaming their deaths on Gabriel. Was the Chief actually going to believe this?

"I can't beleive this..."

The Chief slipped off of his horse and met her fathers gaze.

"Tell me what happened?"

Her father shifted uncomfortably onto one leg. She could tell he didn't want to relive the memories of tonight but even she was curious as to what made him think it was Gabriel who had attacked Ms. Ellis and Dr. Linskey. Letting out a shaky sigh he began to tell the Chief what happened.

"I still can't believe it myself... My son..."

He looked down at the floor in despair before finally continuing.

"I was upstairs in the music room with Roseanne and Paige when we heard my son Gabriel screaming downstairs. We tried to rush to him as fast as we could but when we found him he was in the dining room unconscious. One of the windows had been broken into from the outside but from what I could tell the dining room was deserted. Nothing seemed to be wrong with Gabriel except... except he had a wound on his shoulder that he had gotten in the forest last night and a new cut was on his temple. We didn't even know the wound on his shoulder was infected until Dr. Linskey arrived and inspected it in the spare room. Gabriel began running a high fever and when we tried to bring down his temperature with wet towels his fever suddenly declined until he was as cold as snow. I-I thought we were going to lose him, when out of nowhere he began to wake up."

Paige listened intently to her father absorbing every word that escaped his lips. The first part of the tale where she had been involved was correct, but she was oblivious to him ever having a wound on his shoulder.

"But when he woke up... me and Roseanne literally saw small fangs in his mouth grow out about an inch... And his eyes... his eyes were a color i'd never seen before. They weren't the usual light blue that they always were but almost a grayish black. I know this must sound crazy to you but I swear its the truth."

The Chief continued staring at her father showing no sign of emotion on his face. He gestured with his hand for her father to continue with his story.

"Uh um well when he woke up we all saw it not just me. None of us made a move to get closer to him because he looked... unnatural almost. I don't know how to explain it, but when he woke up he jumped out of the bed and was sniffing the air like he smelt something fascinating. It didn't register in my head that he might hurt one of us...until he walked up to Ms. Ellis and bit her wrist..."

Paige let in a gasp as everything her father was saying sunk in. Gabriel... what happened to him?...

"Me and Dr. Linskey managed to pull him away from her. He was much stronger then he should have been, it literally took all of my strength to get him off of her. Then he turned around and attacked Dr. Linskey. It was horrible... I can still hear the way he sucked the blood out of the doctors neck. He was growling! Growling like an animal would."

The sheriff held up his hand to stop her fathers ranting.

"You say he was sucking the blood out of Dr. Linskey's neck?"

Without a word her father nodded. The Chief turned away from her father and looked at Paige's mother.

"Is this what happened Mrs. Forrester?"

Her mother nodded her head profusely and wrapped her arm around her husband as if to comfort him.

"Yes... every word of it is true. I know it sounds like some sort of super natural delusion but I swear it's true."

The Chief looked from her mother to her father scanning over their faces with his teal blue eyes.

"I believe every word of it. I know what happened here tonight is unheard of to you, but it's not the first time I've seen or heard of this happening."

Paige shook her head, they couldn't be serious. Without thinking about what she was doing she pushed past her father and looked the Chief of police in the eye. He looked down at her in surprise like he hadn't noticed her presence before.

"You can't honestly believe them. My brother wouldn't hurt a bug let alone murder someone. It's not true I saw what happened to Dr. Linskey it wasn't my brother who killed him!"

The man looked shocked at her bold statement. Pointing at her parents he kept eye contact with Paige.

"You mean to tell me everything they just said isn't true?"

Before Paige actually thought about what she was saying she started to spout out the truth.

"My brother was unconscious and someone had broken our dining room window but that's as far as it goes."

Her fathers angry voice erupted from behind her.

"Paige you need to keep your mouth shut. You weren't there, you don't know what happened!"

Ignoring her fathers comment she continued.

"Dr. Linskey and my parents took Gabriel into the room upstairs and I didn't follow, he's right about that. I was downstairs... keeping watch on the window that had been broken. But after I heard their screams I ran to see what was wrong because I thought that that the demon was back... When I got to them my parents and Ms. Ellis were running out of the room as I was running in."

Raising one eyebrow the chief looked almost comical with his twirled mustache tickling his nose.

"Demon?"

"Y-yes... the demon from last night... He told me if I told anyone what happened in the forest he would rip me and Gabriel's throat out..."

Turning to her parents who were now listening to her words intently she began to tell her story more to them than the Chief.

"I lied this morning father... Gabriel was telling the truth when he said we were rescued by a man with black wings. When Gabriel had told you guys the truth I was scared the demon might come back to kill us since Gabriel hadn't kept it a secret..."

She paused to see if they had anything to say but everyone stayed quiet. Taking the silence as a sign to continue she began to tell them what she thought really happened.

"When I went into the spare room my fear of that demon returning was confirmed. It had Gabriel against the wall and was choking him to death. I was so scared for Gabriel I didn't know what to do so I ran up to it and tried to pulling it off of him. It actually got distracted by me and Gabriel managed to get free from its grasp. That's when Gabriel threw himself out of the window and managed to escape."

Turning back to the Chief she held a distressed expression, pleading with her eyes.

"So please sir, my brother is still alive and he's out there somewhere roaming around. Can we please stop wasting time and go search for him?"

The chief stared down at Paige taking in everything she had just told him. Paige had always been short for her age at a height of 5'3 but this man towered over her. He stroked his chin as if in deep thought before speaking.

"What happened after your brother escaped?"

For some reason Paige hadn't expected him to ask her that, even though it was a logical question they were waisting time just standing there. She shifted her weight impatiently onto one leg trying to remember what she had just witnessed not more then twenty minutes ago.

"The demon was angry that I got in his way... First it snapped Dr. Linskeys neck and killed him...and then... when I tried to run out of the room it pinned me to the floor. I thought it was going to kill me like it had tried to kill my brother, but instead he just told me that if I ever got in his way again that he would kill me, and then it left..."

She looked up at him now that her side of the story was over. She was surprised to find the Chief was looking at her like she had just grew a third eyeball. Through this whole time he had not once shown any true emotion but now he looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You mean to tell me the Krusnik spared you?"

Puzzled she repeated his words.

"Krusnik?" A scowl replaced her puzzled stare as the word rolled off her tongue.

"I mean the demon! The demon spared your life twice of its own accord?"

She hadn't really thought of it like he had spared her, more like it had decided to handle her like a rag doll and threaten her. Reluctantly she nodded in response to the Chiefs question.

His eyes somehow widened to the size of small golf balls.

"This...this is remarkable. Why on gods green earth would a Krusnik spare you, a human, and after everything you've seemed to witness?"

Biting her bottom lip Paige stared at the Chief in confusion. She forgot alot of the people in town believed in myths and stories of legend. What was a Krusnik? Before she decided to ask the question out loud the Chief drew closer to Paige as if trying to examine her without actually touching her.

"Did he bite you?"

His tone was more excited then anything, making her feel uneasy.

"No...he didn't bite me."

"How remarkable."

Shifting her weight back onto both feet she stared into the mans unusual teal eyes.

"What is a Krusnik?"

Regaining his composure the Chief held up his hand in response to her question.

"Ah now this is not the time or place to discuss such things."

Turning around he ordered his men who sat idly on their horses to investigate the house. Following the Chief's orders the men slipped off of their horses with there guns in hand. Several scattered the property as the others ran into the house. The man with the twirled mustache waited until the last of his men disappeared into the house before turning around and speaking to her father.

"I am sorry for your loss Mr. Forrester, believe me when I say I will try everything I can to figure out what happened to your son. Right now I'm going to take the bodies into town for further investigation."

Looking over at Ms. Ellis's body he began to stroke his chin again.

"You never did tell me how this woman's body ended up over here."

Her mother cleared her throat before answering.

"I honestly don't know... We weren't watching her when we were out here. We were about to run into the house after Paige when I noticed she was dead... and her body looked like that..."

He nodded his head at her mothers response before kneeling down and checking the fresh wound on the woman's wrist. He scowled at the wound before Paige broke him out of his concentration.

"Mr...?"

She hadn't caught the Chiefs name yet.

"Gabriel is still out there probably bleeding to death aren't you going to issue a search team to go and find him?"

The mans scowl softened as he looked up at her.

"Paige is your name correct?"

Silently she nodded keeping a firm expression on her face.

"From what I'm guessing your brother probably went into hiding since he was almost killed tonight. Since that's the case that means he's most likely taking refuge in the trees of the forest which would be the best place to hide, especially from creatures with wings wouldn't you say? As you already know me and my men won't step foot in that forest at night. You know as well as I that dangerous unnatural creatures roam the forests when the sun retires. Now as for your brother bleeding to death I highly doubt that's the case. If you think about it, the reason why he might have appeared to be bleeding is because he was busy biting people and drinking their blood."

Paige didn't find the hint of sarcasm in his voice the least bit amusing. Her brother was out in the forest where that winged creature was probably searching for him or worse had already found him and all this man had to say is that him and his men won't step foot in that forest at night. She felt disgusted by how much of a coward they all were.

"Tomorrow morning will you search for him?"

Rubbing the back of his stiff neck he stood up from the body and looked out towards the dirt road.

"Listen...Paige."

Looking over at her he looked like he truly felt sorry for what he was about to say.

"What happened here tonight is something you wouldn't understand. Your brother attacked these people whether you want to believe it or not. If we did find your brother... his fate has already been sealed. I'd have no choice but to put him to death since he's a threat to all of us."

Sucking in a horrified gasp Paige backed up shielding her mouth with her hands. He couldn't be serious. The Chief looked down at her apologetically removing his hand from behind his neck.

"I know it's hard for you to understand right now...but your brother is gone."

A few of the men began to shuffle out of the house distracting the man from their conversation.

"Sir, the house is clear."

Turning away from Paige he directed his attention towards his men.

"Alright, I need the bodies to be wrapped up and brought back into town with us. Mr. Forrester do you think you can name everyone who had been in this house tonight?"

Her father nodded.

"Alrighty I'm going to need you and your family to stay in town tonight until we get this mess cleaned up."

Blocking out the rest of the mans words Paige couldn't believe what he had just told her. Everyone was so accepting that Gabriel was gone. This was just too fast, she wanted to scream out and punch some sense into all of them. But she knew if she even attempted that she'd be waking up behind bars the next morning. As she thought over what everyone had said tonight she began to realize more and more that nobody was going after Gabriel. Even her own parents were accepting that he was gone even when they all knew he was still out there, alive. Clenching her fists to her sides she knew the chances of them coming back to this house any time soon were slim. She had to make a choice right now before it was too late. Whatever happened to her brother tonight she knew he needed her help. Whats worse she knew that what she was about to do was a suicide wish but she tried not to care. Her brother was the only precious person in her life and she'd be damned if she was going to abandon him like her pathetic parents had.

Scanning over the police men who stood in front of her talking to the Chief, her gaze rested on the revolvers tucked neatly underneath their belts. Her sniveling parents hugged each other and the men had already seemed to have forgotten her presence. Taking advantage of every ones distraction Paige swiftly snatched a revolver out from underneath one of there belts and began running towards the field in back of the house. She thanked god for her swift hands as she heard the confused shouts of the men behind her.

Turning around the side of the house Paige jumped over the white picket fence and ran towards the field. She just needed to get to the forest so she wouldn't have to worry about the Chief and his men following her. Without looking back Paige heard the sounds of the mens shouts getting louder and she knew they were chasing after her. She swallowed the forming lump in her throat and quickened her pace as fast as she could. Cursing her short legs she began leaping over the long grass in the field. She hoped the grass would slow down the men pursuing her if even just by a little bit. Even though the sun had retired Paige could make out the dark outline of the forest, just thirty more seconds and she'd be safely hidden within the trees. As her hopes of getting away began to seem within reach two strong arms came from behind and wrapped around her waist. She struggled against the mans arms stomping on his foot while trying to elbow his gut.

"Calm down there little birdie or I'll have to get rough. Now you don't want that do ya?"

Normally she would have found the mans Southern accent amusing but right now his words only angered her more. With her blood boiling Paige pulled back the hammer of the revolver and pulled the trigger over the mans foot. She must of hit him straight on cause his arms slid away from her as he screamed out curses. Not bothering to look at the damage she'd done she dropped the revolver and began running towards the row of endless trees in the distance. Hiking up her pink dress she tried to pick up her pace as much as possible through the long grass. The soft house slippers she had been wearing during her lessons were quickly slipped off by the hoards of long grass pulling at her feet with each step. Keeping her eyes trained on the trees ahead she concentrated on getting past the edge of the field and entering the dark forest.

With much relief no one seemed to be following her as she finally rushed past the last of the long grass and descended into the trees. Everything went black as she walked further into the forest, not even the moons light could get past the bushel of leaves hanging from the trees above. She cautiously slowed her run to a walk before leaning against the bark of a tree to catch her breath. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now. Here she was alone, stuck in a pitch black forest where winged creatures with sharp fangs roamed around and who knew what else. This was one of those times when she wished her parents had given her another sibling closer to her age. It had always been lonely growing up without a sibling close to her own age, and especially now it would be nice having someone here she could confide with.

While catching her breath her eyes adjusted to the darkness making it easier for her to see the outline of the bushes and trees surrounding her. She didn't want to go deep into the forest this time so she tried to stay on the outskirts of the trees and search for her brother there. As she walked around the different plants she scanned over everything in her path. It almost seemed pointless, she didn't want to yell out her brothers name in case someone had followed her, but looking for her brother in the dark silently seemed useless.

She really should have thought this one through. After about ten minutes of searching Paige decided to sit down and rest on everything that had happened. Her body wanted to shut down from all the stress she was feeling. In a matter of two days her life had changed dramatically. Her brother was declared dead even though he was still alive and a demon that killed people for no reason had already crossed her path twice. She prayed they wouldn't meet again. If they did she probably wouldn't be lucky enough to survive a third encounter. She remembered the way the Chief had acted when she had told him that the demon had let her go. He had called it a "Krusnik," she had never heard that name before in her life. Was it a sort of species? Like a vampire? She shook her head at the way her thoughts were going.

She dearly hoped she didnt have vampires to worry about too. All she wanted right now was to find her brother and make sure he was safe. As Paige sat there wallowing in her thoughts She realized that not only was she completely blind to her surroundings but it was completely silent as well. The only thing she could hear above her own racing heart was the sound of her uneven ragged breathing.

She sat there motionless for a long span of time re living the moments of today in her head. It was like last night was only the opening act to the true horror of what had happened today. Everything her father had said, the look in her brothers eyes as fresh blood oozed down his chin onto his shirt, the way she witnessed that demon breaking the doctors neck. Was she even living in the same world anymore?

Slowly pushing herself up she feebly rested against the tree she had been sitting by. Even though it was obvious that there was nobody around she had to at least search blindly through these trees for her brother. She'd be damned if she was going to give up on finding him before she had even started. Slowly she limped from where she stood and headed deeper into the forest. Her eyes grazed over the the dark outlines of the trees surrounding her.

The raw fear and adrenaline that had recently coursed through her had long since past leaving her feeling exhausted and drained. She could only silently pray that a higher being would help guide her through this tragedy that had befallen her and her family.


	6. Chapter 6

A painful throbbing pulsed through her head like nothing she had ever experienced before. Letting out a low groan she slowly attempted to pull her heavy eyes open. What happened? Resting her palm against her forehead she managed pull her eyes open only to be welcomed with the suns blinding light. Squinting through the suns rays she scanned over her surroundings.

The sound of the morning birds echoed from above mocking her from a safe distance with their annoying shrills. Noticing the endless maze of trees that surrounded her she groggily pushed herself up into a sitting position. Everything that happened lastnight slowly seeped back into her memory.

The calm grogginess that she was feeling swiftly disipated to be replaced with panic. Her stomach made a somersault causing her throat to tighten and her mouth to salivate. Leaning over to the side her stomach emptied out what little of its contents that it had.

Her head pounded with each gag she made. This was a headache she had never felt so intensely before. In the back of her mind she wondered if this was what a hangover must feel like. Her parents were always complaining about a massive headache the day after they drank and she could only guess it must have felt a little something like what she was feeling now.

When her stomach was done protesting she looked around wildly trying to recall how she had ended up there. She was rested against a tall tree with thick black roots protruding from the ground around her. Pushing herself up into a defensive stance she slowly crept forward. She remembered she had stupidly ran into the forest lastnight to find Gabriel and had ended up finding herself lost in the dark.

She vaguely recalled becoming exhausted in her search but she didn't remember how she had ended up falling asleep against a tree. While in mid thought a stinging pain suddenly raced through the bottom of her foot. Hissing in pain she looked down to find she had stepped on a small jagged edged stone. She lifted her foot to examine the damage when it dawned on her that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

Blood trickled from the small wound in the middle of her foot where the rock had broke the surface of her skin. Cautiously she put her foot back down to the ground and walked on its tip toe.

While trying to make sense of the situation she softly whispered to herself as if the sound of her voice might bring her some clarity. "How far did I walk last night?" The birds from above had quieted without her noticing so she could hear herself clearly among the forests silence. How had it come to this? Here she was lost in the middle of the forest without shoes and Gabriel was still somewhere out there probably feeling as lost and alone as she was.

She had no clue what to do. She had never felt so lost in her life. Absently biting her bottom lip she hugged herself while looking in every possible direction she could head in. She wondered if Gabriel was still okay and if her parents had managed to make it away from the house safely. Had they decided she was as good as dead the minute she thoughtlessly raced into the forest?

Would her parents do that? She somehow didn't doubt it, especially since they had seemed so fast in leaving Gabriel behind last night. Still scared out of her wits she took one long last look at the tree she had been resting under. It was a amazing how old these trees seemed to be. Thick roots protruded from the ground threatening to rip from the very earth beneath her. Giving the creepy trees surrounding her a quick glance over she began a slow pace through the endless maze of forest mentally preparing herself for a lonely tiresome journey.

:::

Paige knew she must have been walking for hours before she couldn't ignore the painful throbbing in her feet any longer and stopped to rest. She wondered even more desperately now how it had come to this. She quite clearly remembered trying to stay on the outskirts of this wretched forest last night because she knew how easy it was to get lost.

Most of the trees looked the same so it was hard to figure out if she was making any progress in the direction she was going. The only thing that seemed to change in scenery as she kept forward were the bushes. Some of the bushes she passed were just a shrubbery of small leaves with yellow berries sprinkled in their green masses and others she spotted had long pointed oval shaped leaves with deep purple flowers blooming from them. There were alot of beautiful plants she would absently pass by. A few others were just bushels of odd shaped leaves and one bush actually had orange leaves with a pink tinge crawling down each of the leaves stems.

The orange one was the one that really caught her eye but she wasn't paying enough attention to stop and examine the plants she passed. Her feet were aching and her stockings torn from walking over pointed twigs and and through thorned bushes. Things would have been a lot easier if there was even just a small trail she could follow instead of having to fight her way through. Sitting with her legs crossed she tenderly rubbed her aching feet. She was beginning to get the idea that she should just rip some of the cloth from her pink dress and wrap it around her feet for protection.

She was sorta hoping it wouldn't come to that since she planned to make it out of that forest soon and how ridiculous would she look with a mess of tangled hair, her tattered dress, ripped stockings, and a bundle of pink cloth for feet. Whoever spotted her first would think she was a deranged homeless child descending out of the forest.

She winced when she accidentally brushed over one of the cuts on her foot with the pad of her thumb. Inwardly groaning she grabbed for the end of her dress and began to tear off a large piece of cloth from the lop layer. Her dress was just a casual dress so it had only two layers. The thin cloth underneath the top was just a thin white fabric. She needed the thicker pink fabric if she was going to build herself some cloth shoes. Surprisingly the cotton fabric was easier to rip then she thought. The sound of the small threads tearing and her soft breathing were the only sounds that filled the air. She guessed since it was no longer morning all the birds from before had retreated somewhere into hiding. Hiding from what she didn't know.

After she had managed to tear off two large pieces of pink fabric she wrapped them around her feet giving them each three layers for protection. She then ripped off long thin pieces of the white fabric and tied the pink cloth to her feet. One around the ankle in a tight knot, two around the middle section of her foot and one around the toes. This would have to do until she managed to find her way back.

Standing up she tested out her new creation by walking over the leaves and twigs that decorated the ground. This felt much better then having her bare feet take the abuse. Wiggling her toes beneath the shabby pink shoes she managed a light smile. These had to be the most ridiculous shoes she had ever seen. Even though they were poorly made they did their job well. Her dress on the other hand was ripped in the front all the way to her bottom thighs yet still long in the back.

She imagined the way her mothers eyes would pop out of her head if she were to see the way Paige was dressed. She would be absolutely frantic, worried that someone might see her and recognize her as Roseanne Forrester's daughter. The thought of her mother's disapproval sent her recently light mood plummeting.

She was more homesick then she had realized. She actually missed her long dull lessons and the way her mom seemed to always hold such natural grace when she walked or spoke. And the way her dad was so strict with the rules he set in the house, Gabriel whining to her to take him outside. By this time she had half convinced herself that maybe Gabriel had gone back home and was safe back in her parents arms. Even though she knew it was wishful thinking it was the only thing driving her to truly want to make it back home.

Stretching out her arms Paige once again began to walk through the trees hoping beyond hope that she was heading in the right direction.

:::

The skin on her legs felt raw and her mucles were beginning to ache. She had never walked this much in a day ever. With each passing hour the shadows of the forest were growing larger, stretching over the land teasing her with there ever slow arrival. It was like they were purposely mocking her by signaling that day light would be over to soon.

The sun was already beginning to set behind the trees overhead leaving a fading orange light to guide her path. With only the sound of her soft footsteps and the rustle of the wind blown leaves to be heard it was easy for her to get lost in her thoughts. The eery silence that hung in the air was so thick it was hard for her to think of it as being peaceful.

She felt like if she were to just speak it would cut through the air sounding more like an obnoxious bellow. And she definitely didn't want to be unnecessarily loud if she could help it. The fact that through out the day she still hadn't stumbled across any sign of animal life disturbed her. There was just no way that that was normal. The birds she had heard that morning seemed more like a hallucination now instead of a recent memory.

There were no signs of small squirrels or birds in the trees, no fresh or aged manure to inspect on the ground. When she thought of this place the words empty or dead were the first to cross her mind. Of course the plant life in this forest was thriving everywhere she looked, constantly getting in her way as she continued forward.

She'd already had to battle a few bushes to get to where she was now, leaving small cuts to decorate her unprotected arms. By this time she knew that she had headed in a completely wrong direction. She was willingly heading deeper into the forest with each step she took, and what confused her more was she didn't feel compelled to turn back.

There was this lingering feeling inside her mind encouraging her with each step she took to continue forward. A feeling that she was getting closer to discovering what she was looking for. And because the only thing that she hoped to find in this forest was Gabriel, she continued forward without questioning what might happen.

No part of her felt inclined to fight this foreign force that lingered somewhere inside her mind. In all reasoning it was her fault that she was in this situation in the first place and what did she have to go back to if Gabriel hadn't made it back home? She suspected her parents would act as if Gabriel had died and she would still be forced to attend private school and marry like nothing out of the ordinary had happened this summer. Having this whole day to herself had given her a lot of time to think over the situation she was in and by the time she had realized that she should be turning back she decided that she didn't see a point.

Without Gabriel in her life she had no friends... She was alone in the world and she knew it. Of course she loved her parents very much but her love for Gabriel felt so much stronger. Maybe it was because she knew he was in trouble and needed her help or because some part of her knew that things would never be the same if she were to leave this forest now and Gabriel would be lost forever, but whatever the reasoning she knew she couldn't abandon him, wherever he was.

Letting out a long drawn out yawn she tightly stretched her arms outward trying to ease her muscles out of being stiff. It took her a minute to pay attention to where she was heading before she finally noticed that she was walking straight towards a large oddly twisted tree. She slowed her pace, but still kept forward wanting to get a better look at the contorted tree.

Its thick dark bark twisted up from the ground causing its weight to lean in an odd direction. No leaves decorated its branches leaving it looking dead compared to all the other trees she had seen. No plant life grew anywhere near or around it as if being repelled by some unseen barrier. Its long naked branches were thrust in every direction, entangling themselves with one another leaving them looking like an unnatural gigantic tumbleweed resting atop of the tree.

As she stepped into the large clearing and approached the tree she squinted her eyes trying her hardest to see through the huge balled up mass of branches. She found when she was in arms reach of the bark all she could see was darkness and the outline of more branches behind their exterior. The thought that passed her mind as she brushed her fingertips over the rough bark made her pull away as if she had been shocked.

It did kind of look like the mass of tangled branches were big enough to have something large trapped in the center, or like the branches could untangle at any minute. Shaking her head she backed away from the creepy tree while beginning to hug herself with her slender arms. Cautiously she turned away and began heading in the direction she had before.

The crack of a twig snapping suddenly stabbed through the silence startling her into making a very loud yelp. She jumped about two feet from where she was standing looking around wildly for the source of the sound. It immediately dawned on her when she looked at the ground that she had just stepped on a stick that now lay broken in half.

Letting out the breath she had been holding her shoulders sagged forward with relief. She stared at the broken stick that rested on the dirt by her feet before glancing up at the dead tree that still towered over her. Just being in the trees presence gave her the chills. Turning away again she sprinted in the other direction of the tree until she felt she was a good few yards away and was once again surrounded by the different assortments of thriving plant life.

She softly smiled at the green very much living trees that surrounded her before slumping her weight against a tall healthy looking tree and closed her eyes. She had been wandering through this forest all day without any food or water and god what she wouldn't do for a cold glass of water right then. Her lips were beginning to feel chapped with each time she ran her tongue over them and her throat ached for the feel of something cool to wash away her growing thirst.

The trees overhead swayed in the wind leaving their shadows to dance across her inner eyelids. The headache she'd felt that morning had thankfully dulled to a slight ache so wandering around all day between periodic rests hadn't been complete agony. It suddenly dawned on her what a fool she was for allowing her shoes to be ripped off by the grass when she had been running from that officer. This mission she had threw herself into was proving to feel more impossible with each passing minute.

And not being able to remember how she'd fallen asleep still irked her. And where had that excruciating headache come from? Maybe stress was affecting her body much more than she thought it was. With her thoughts ringing with unanswered questions the calm sound of the breeze blowing through the trees overhead lulled her into a sleep she hadn't known was coming. As she fell into a light sleep her questions slowly faded away.

When she suddenly awoke she noticed the sun had long since retired leaving the faint glow of the moon to light up her surroundings. Everything around her was outlined in a gray filmy light not giving her much to observe. Pushing herself away from the tree that she rested against she slowly stepped forward. She hesitantly scanned over the outline of dark bushes and trees in the distance before deciding whether she should keep moving.

Last time she had wandered this deep into the forest she'd been attacked by a couple of crazed men and by that demon with wings. Her brow furrowed at the memory of being pinned against a tree by that silver haired creature. He had laughed at her then. Probably because she had seemed so puny to him he couldn't even think of her as a threat. He was the reason for everything that had happened to her family, the reason Gabriel was missing. Her blood boiled with loathing. She hated that creature more then she had ever hated anything. If it weren't for him she wouldn't be in this mess, she wouldn't be alone in the world.

With her hands clenched at her sides she stiffly began to walk forward. Without much light to guide her path this place was definitely five times creepier and just the thought of breaking the thick silence seemed like a cry for trouble. As she continued forward she began to hear the faint muffled sound of what sounded like a low growl in the distance. Without being able to see five feet in front of her it took her a couple minutes to decipher where the sound was coming from.

Slowly she crept to her right making her way towards the distant sound while trying to make as little noise as possible. Curiosity and adrenaline over rode what fear she probably should have been feeling allowing her to move closer to the sound fearlessly. As she approached the growing sound she realized that it didn't really sound like a growl at all but more like a deep grunting. This didn't put off her curiosity at all. She continued creeping forward listening intently to the growing sound that must have been coming from only a few yards away. Controlling her shallow breathing she dodged any bushel of leaves that might have brushed her skin so she wouldn't alert whatever it was of her presence.

When she approached the familiar opening that led back towards that contorted dead tree from earlier, she froze. Uncertainty kept her feet grounded into the floor. The deep muffled grunting sounded clearly from a few feet away from the bushes she was now next to. She just wanted to get a quick glance at whatever was making that noise, it could just be an animal. And seeing an actual live animal might give her some reassurance that she wasn't the only living thing in this forest.

But what if it was that thing that the trees branches had been holding? Assuming that there was a thing and it was a dangerous blood thirsty creature that somehow had broken free. The image of tall gangly figure with razor teeth and long claw like hands flashed through her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut while violently shaking her head. She was being absolutely ridiculous. Whatever it was she just wanted to sneak a peak to prove to herself that it was just an animal. Cautiously creeping forward she slowly got down on all fours and began to peak her head out from behind the bushes.

Scanning over the empty clearing her eyes traced over the looming dark shape that was the dead tree before finding themselves attracted to a dark shape huddled just under the tree. Squinting her eyes at the dark form she risked creeping forward a little more to study the animal. Whatever it was its attention was on something over there. Loud gurgling noises filled the air like it was drinking water greedily. The thought that she might have missed a small pond of water suddenly popped in her head. Excitedly she crawled out from the bushes and chanced getting a better look.

As the outline of the animal grew more clear she realized that the dark shape she had been watching had wings. They were large dark wings drawn into its back. Her breath hitched in her throat when the thing with wings made another loud gurgling noise and grunted. She froze in place suddenly wishing she hadn't come near this creature at all. She silently stared at it allowing her eyes to adjust to the light around them. When they did, she realized to her horror that the winged creature was hunched over a body. A human body.

Foolishly without thinking she sprang up into a stance and rushed forward. "Stop! What are you doing?"

The winged creature swiftly spun around before she could continue her hysterical yelling. She froze when her eyes met the pure black ones of a man that now watched her. He looked like a pale demon under the light of the moon with dark liquid messily dripping down his chin and onto his bare chest. Slowly her eyes trailed down his form to the small body laying behind its crouched form. She drew in a sharp breath at the sight of messy blonde hair and a mangled boys body lying stiffly on the ground. Tears she hadn't known were coming suddenly leaked down her cheeks. Focusing her attention on her brother she lunged forward to take hold of him and shield him from the demon that was now staring at her.

"YOU MONSTER!" She shrieked, her face contorted with pain.

Before she could reach her brothers limp form the creature let out a loud snarl and lunged its body at her, swiftly pinning her to the ground underneath him. She struggled violently underneath his heavy body but nothing she did seemed to phase it. It let out a deep growl before adjusting its hold on her wriggling arms to get a better grip. When it had her arms pinned above her head with one hand and his legs pinning down her thighs, it slowly leaned forward and licked the side of her throat smearing the blood that was on its chin onto her neck in the process.

This demon wasn't the same one from before. Its hair was shorter and was colored a dark black and its features were hard like that of an older mans rather than the young features of the one that had tried to kill her brother. Uncontrollable tears washed down her cheeks as a growing feeling of helplessness raked through her body. She shrieked writhing back and forth underneath him trying to break free but it didn't seem to notice her struggle. A deep malicious chuckle vibrated from his chest when she felt the sharp sting of its fangs grazing across her skin.

It had moved from the pulse on her neck along the skin to her cheek. Without being able to move Paige did the only thing she could do, she sobbed. She knew there was nobody around to hear her cries which allowed another wave of helplessness to wash through her body. Even though crying loudly was pointless she just couldn't find it in her to try and stop. Her whole body ached and she just wanted to get over to her brother to check if he was still alive.

Her loud sobs were quite suddenly cut off when the monster on top of her brought its mouth over hers forcing its cold tongue into her warm mouth. She choked on the metallic taste of blood that lingered on this creatures lips. She wanted to die knowing that this was her brothers blood inside her mouth. A deep grunt that she suspected was meant to be a groan vibrated from its throat. Her stomach twisted with the horror that this thing on top of her was kissing her. Its tongue continued to explore her mouth as his lips moved against her stiff ones. Cold tears streaked down the side of her face while she began to continue her useless struggle beneath him.

When it finally lifted itself up from her mouth she spit out all the lingering blood it left behind. It laughed as it watched her spit out the blood and cold taste of the man that had just forced itself on her. Before she was done gagging on her own spit it leaned down again this time to her neck and sank its sharp teeth into her soft skin. She began to scream when a sharp burning sensation engrossed all of her senses. Never in her life had she felt a pain like this one, a deep seering pain racked through her body over and over. Her body began to convulse into shock as pain reverberated from the tips of her toes the back of her scalp. She could feel the blood inside of her being drained with each drink the monster took. A few minutes must have passed before her struggling ceased and she became paralyzed in a state of shock. She could feel her heart began to slow as her body made sudden sharp jerks. This was it, this was how she was going to die. Who would have known. With that last thought her body shut down allowing her to fall into darkness.

xx

With a sharp jerk Paige sprang to her feet letting out a choked sob. Breathing harshly she placed a hand to her chest and looked around wildly. The sun was still out letting its orange glow light up the day. Cold tears suddenly ran down her cheeks falling onto her tattered dress. Briskly she brought her hand to her throat checking for a bite wound but only felt smooth skin underneath her fingers. She whirled around taking in her surroundings to find that she was still next to the tall tree she had stopped to rest against.

Taking slower breathes she slowly fell to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut and nibbling at her bottom lip while her mind raced with adrenaline. _It was all just a dream. It was just a dream Paige, get a hold of yourself. It was just a dream, its not real, Gabriel is still alive. That monster didn't really kill him it was just your imagination running wild. Get a hold of yourself... it didn't really happen. _A loud sob escaped her lips as she tried to slow down her ragged breathing. Even with these words ringing through her head her heart raced inside her chest like it had been real.

It took Paige about ten minutes before her heart slowed to a steadier rhythm and she felt calm. Slowly standing up she dusted off her dirt caked knees. Panic now resided inside her chest because she feared for when night time fell. Letting out a loud sigh she ran her fingers through her bangs since her orange hair was still up in a tight bun. She didn't know how long she had been asleep for but it couldn't have been long because the sunlight seemed to be just as bright as it was when she fell asleep.

That had to be the most vivid dream she had ever experienced in her life. It had felt so disturbingly real. How could her mind torture her like that? Taking another deep breath she looked in the direction leading towards the oddly twisted tree and then began a steady stride in the opposite direction. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and that tree as she could.

After countless minutes of mindless wandering and the cold sweat that she had broken into had dissipated the sound of her footsteps and soft breathing weren't the only sounds that occupied the air. Straining her ears to hear clearly she listened intently to the unmistakable sound of water in the distance. Her dry mouth and forgotten thirst suddenly made itself known. Without much thought other then the hope of finding fresh water she sprang forward into steady sprint towards the sound.

Maneuvering her way around thick trees and over fallen branches she reached the newly discovered river in less than a couple minutes. It was a lot bigger then she'd expected. It must have stretched to about ten feet wide and the tide seemed strong with how fast the water was flowing. Stepping out into the clearing that surrounded the river, she cautiously took in her surroundings before deciding to put her guard down by drinking from the water.

Thick green trees swayed in the wind above while fallen leaves brushed by her feet in the direction that the water was flowing. From what she observed she was definitely alone. The dirt underneath her feet felt cold and was much softer than the hard dry ground behind her. Her cloth shoes quickly absorbed the moisture in the ground leaving her feet damp. Slowly she made her way over to side of the river and crouched down beside it. She reached both of her hands into the water savoring the feel of the cold water against her skin.

The water felt wonderful against the small scrapes and cuts that scathed her hands and wrists. Bringing her cupped hands back up she placed the heel of her hand to her lips and allowed the water to spill into her mouth and along down her chin as she took deep gulps. She repeated this about five more times before her thirst was finally quenched. Sitting back with her legs crossed in front of her she watched the strong river flow wildly. The swift water swept through aggressively filling the air with its loud roar. She didn't know how deep the water went since she couldn't see the bottom but her guess was it probably went to at least her chest.


	7. Chapter 7

It was nice watching the sky change colors overhead as the the sun was making its last goodbye. The ground beneath her back felt cool through the fabric of her dress and since the ground was soft it melded nicely against her curves. It felt so much more peaceful having the river next to her drowning out any deafening silence with its hum. For the first time that day she felt comfortable – arms crossed behind her head, feet shielded from the chill in the air with the cloth shoes she made. Her blue eyes flickered over the different arrays of pastel colors that painted the sky. She was going to enjoy this last hour of day light by soaking in the sunset like she had always wanted to. Before today she was never allowed the time to appreciate the sunset like it deserved. Letting out a long drawn out sigh she lied there unmoving. It was decided that she was going to set up camp here for the night. After that disturbing dream she'd had she was to scared to wander this place at night. She thought of the dream as a warning, telling her this place couldn't be trusted once night fell. Wherever the vivid dream had come from she wasn't going to ignore it whether it meant something or not.

She watched the clouds in mild interest as some of them moved away from each other while others moved against each other to form shapeless lumpy blobs.

The moon was already high in the sky though at the moment it was just a round planet in the distance with the suns light over powering its own. When she wasn't trying to make sense of this situation she would get lost in her wandering thoughts. Thoughts that she had wondered before any of this had happened. She constantly wondered what it would be like if she were to move to Paris. Her family had traveled to Paris a few times in her childhood, she remembered those days being absolutely amazing. If she ever got out of this she definitley was moving to Paris first opportunity that presented itself. Her mind then took on a bleeker mood, would she ever make it out of this forest alive...? She wanted things to turn back to the way they were. She knew there was no way Gabriel had attacked Ms. Ellis and that doctor, her parents were greatly mistaken. And even if Gabriel had attacked them he must have been being controlled or under some sort of spell. Normally she didn't believe in black magic or demons for that matter but after everything she'd heard and seen she wouldn't be surprised to find out that this forest was under some sort of curse and that was why no animals inhabited this place.

Letting out another one of her sighs she reluctantly sat up. She needed to figure out where she was going to sleep before the suns light was gone completely. Walking back into the trees she examined her surroundings for a spot that was somewhat hidden. She found where she was going to sleep almost immediately. There underneath a dark green bush with red flowers springing from its leaves was a clearing large enough for her to lay beneath but still appear hidden if anyone were to pass by. She cleared the ground under the bush of all leaves and twigs before crawling into her new found bed. It wasn't the most comfortable spot but it would have to do. She doubted she'd be able to sleep if she felt like she was out in the open. Crawling back out from under the bush she settled herself next to it with her legs crossed. With every movement she made she was reminded of how sore her muscles were. She had never walked this much in a day so her muscles were paying the price dearly.

As she sat there she absently looked over her surroundings. There wasn't much left to do since it would be to soon before her light was completely gone, so she pulled on the ribbon in her hair allowing the knot to fall loose and for her hair to fall over her shoulders. Her thick orange hair fell loosely in long tangled waves. She ran her fingers over the imprint the ribbon left from having her hair tied up before trying to smooth out the tangles. Her hair still smelled strongly of the lavender shampoo she had used to wash her hair. She inhaled the familiar scent with a small smile playing at her lips. This was the best smell she had come across all day. It reminded her of her normal life back at home. The home she had no idea if she would ever see again. She contemplated how long she would be able to keep this up. This walking blindly through the forest looking for her brother that she might never find. As if on signal her stomach let out a loud protest. If she found no sign of Gabriel she had no choice but to find her way back home. She didn't feel desperately hungry yet but by tomorrow she would most likely feel ravenous. All she could really do right now was hope that whatever it was that had drawn her this far had been right and she would find Gabriel soon.

Rubbing at her tired eyes, she smoothed her palm over her forehead and let out a yawn. The sun had almost all together retired leaving her in a bluish light. The growing darkness was already beginning to make her feel uneasy. She crawled back into her hidden spot underneath the bush and tried to force herself to fall asleep. It was no surprise to her when she couldn't even make herself feel tired. So she laid there restlessly and waited as the hours slowly passed. For once in her life she was thankful that the season was summer. The night air was warm leaving her with little need for a blanket. Her aching muscles protested with exhaustion at her hindrance to fall asleep but her mind remained to alert to allow herself rest. She wished that she could force herself to fall asleep so she wouldn't have to lie there stewing in her paranoia but that dream had terrified her into beleiving that once night fell this place wasn't safe.

It was finally when the night had gone pitch black with the exception of the full moons light, that she heard a very faint, distant stirring that could almost be mistaken for her imagination. She strained her ears listening for the sound that she swore she had just heard. The seconds ticked by slowly before she heard it again. It was the sound of bushes rustling in the distance, closer this time and not the breeze blowing rustling. Her body stiffened before she slowly began to creep back deeper into the bush. She listened intently for the sound to come again but the next few seconds were silent.

She quieted her breathing best she could while continuing to listen. Suddenly the sound came again this time much closer. The rustle of a nearby bush and the sound of breathing carried through the suffocating silence. Her heart began to pound rapidly inside her chest. Whatever was near her was sniffing its surroundings restlessly like a dog would when searching for an unseen scrap of food. Her eyes widened when the improbable thought that it might possibly be tracking her scent crossed her mind. She scooted further into the bush trying to remain as unseen as possible. Leaves crunching under the weight of footsteps were making their way towards her. She didn't dare squeeze her eyes shut or move a centimeter out of position. Unwillingly her cupped hands began to tremble against her chest.

All that her eyes could make out from where she lay were the dark outline of unmoving plants that sat in her line of vision. She trembled with panic as the footsteps continued to move towards her. Whatever was coming, it was approaching her defenseless backside fast making her panic rise like wildfire. The footsteps moved swiftly and without hindrance. She began to count the seconds in her head hoping she would remain unnoticed when it passed by. One, two, three, fou- A sharp pain abruptly pierced her scalp causing a shriek to burst from her lips. She was torn from where she lay and violently thrown against a large bush by some unseen force. She cried out as the branches ripped at her bare arms and stabbed into her tender head. A high pitched growl stabbed through the air catching her attention. She hastily looked over to see a mangy looking boy hunched over the ground on all fours staring back at her. She scrambled up from where she was thrown and began to run in the opposite direction. She pumped her legs as fast as she could trying not to lose herself in utter terror. A loud inhuman snarl followed close behind giving her sudden rush of adrenaline.

She raced through the trees not once letting an obstacle slow her down. Her feet thudded against the hard ground sending her careening blindly forward. The boy behind her wasn't making nearly as much noise in his chase but she knew if she stopped for even a second he'd be on her within the blink of an eye. She wanted to scream for help to be rescued from what was bound to happen to her soon but there was no point in wasting her energy. Her eyes had adjusted to the night making it easier for her to see her surroundings. Swiftly she leapt over a small bush hoping that would help assist in slowing down her pursuer. Unfortunately it didnt. An impatient growl erupted from close behind her making her try all that much harder to pick up her pace.

Concentrating on observing her surroundings she realized she was in a familiar area. The same opening that she had seen more then once before was careening towards her line of vision. Without a second thought she raced into the clearing that led straight to the contorted tree from earlier. Moonlight spilled over her surroundings making it so much easier to see. Right in the center of the clearing the same oddly twisted tree was exactly where she had left it. It looked even more menacing under the moon light. Its coloring looked gray and lifeless as shadows danced over the thick entangled branches. As she approached the menacing tree she hesitated in her step. Suddenly a heavy weight on her back pushed her down. She tried to scream but her cry was cut short when her face slammed into the ground.

Spitting out the dry dirt that found its way into her mouth she managed to whirl around onto her back. The boy had jumped off of her and was now circling her like she was his prey. When she turned her head towards the boy her mouth dropped stupidly. There standing in the flesh was the whole reason she had come this far. Gabriel stood before her in nothing but a pair of torn trousers, his blonde hair was matted with tangles and dirt. He was almost unrecognizable with his large _dark_ eyes and the way he was bearing his teeth. Hesitantly she backed away on her elbows and feet.

"G-Gabriel?..."

She could manage no more then a croaked out whisper. Her lungs were burning from her adrenaline filled run and her mouth was extremely dry with the dirt that caked her lips and her harsh in take of breath. The boy didn't even seem to have noticed she spoke. Again she tried to speak, this time more desperately.

"Gabriel what are you doing? It's me Paige. Gabriel!"

He continued to circle her while slowly crouching down on all fours. Without another second to give her time to speak he fiercely lunged forward and landed on top of her. She began to flail around trying to push him away but he was much stronger then he should have been. She pressed her palm against his small shoulder trying to keep him at a distance. Her eyes widened in horror when frothing saliva began to accumulate from his mouth and dripped down his chin. She let in a terrified gasp at how much this wasn't her brother at all. His eyes weren't the soft blue they should have been, his face looked much older. His features were harder like he had lost all his baby fat over night. Her shoulders began to tremble violently when a naseous feeling washed over her senses giving Gabriel just the opening to snap at the hand that was holding him back. She didn't even scream when he sunk his teeth into the fleshy part between her thumb and index finger. She watched in a dazed trance as a stream of blood dripped from the hand that was still in between his teeth.

Swiftly the boy pulled away ripping off a hunk of bloody flesh with him. A high pitched whimper suddenly escaped her lips. _How can this be happening? This has to be just another dream? _She cringed at the sight of him chewing the hunk of flesh in his mouth. He seemed to be savoring its taste almost thoughtfully. Quickly while he seemed distracted she mustered up all her strength and pushed his small form off of her. He seemed surprised by her sudden outburst but recovered quickly before she had time to take a step away. He roughly grabbed onto her shoulders hoisting his body up and kicking her back down to the ground. The wind rushed out of her lungs when her back forcefully hit the ground. She vainly struggled underneath his grip but he was holding onto her shoulders with a painfully throbbing death grip. She watched as the boys face split into a menacing smile before he leaned down to her neck and bit into her soft skin.

She laid there frozen in shock from the sudden pain, gasping and wheezing she began desperately trying to push him off of her. Nothing she did seemed to phase him. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the seering pain coursing through her body, while her mind raced. What did she ever do to deserve this? What had she done wrong where god decided this was how she should be punished? To be murdered by her own brother. Slowly she opened her eyes to for the first time realize that the crazed tree was leaning right over them. Right then it honestly didn't seem so scary. She could feel her life being drained from her with each loud gurgling drink of blood her brother took from her. There was nothing worse that could happen to her. She slowly began to close her eyes accepting that this really was going to be the end of her life.

"I can help you."

Her eyes shot open at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Her body was paralyzed so she couldn't crane her head in any direction to see who had spoke. Suddenly the deep voice came again.

"I need you to free me so I can help you."

Who was speaking? Darkness began to creep from the corners of her vision. She focused all her attention on the pain coursing through her body trying not to lose consciousness yet.

"You need to speak the next words I tell you and I swear you will live through this."

She tried to furrow her brow in confusion but just making that effort caused the pain in her body to heighten. Quickly she gave up trying and laid there motionless, listening for the mans next words.

"Nomine vel promitto sed cruor ego set vo fraye. Enimus ut vomica nos nucui. Ego mos signum ut redimio pro vestri universus iterum."

His voice rolled through her head thick with an accent she was unfamiliar with. She strained her memory trying to remember the foreign words he had just told her. With her mouth already hanging open she attempted to rasp out the words just spoken to her but her voice came out sounding lower than that of a whisper.

'No-nominay vei..."

The voice began to repeat the phrase again this time much slower saying the next word that needed to be said after she finished the one before. She repeated every word the man had asked her to repeat without much thought. Her mind was beginning to go blank, very soon she knew she would be dead.

Once the chant was over her mouth limply fell open before she closed her eyes. Her head sagged to the side giving gabriel more room to take in her blood. The seering pain that rang through her body was no longer apparent, all that was left behind was the cold stub of her fast approaching death.

"Quickly before it's to late! Place your right hand on the tree!"

Ignoring the deep voice that rang through her mind she continued to lie there motionless. Abruptly the commanding voice became louder and more urgent pressing for her to stay conscious.

"Do not let yourself die! Place your right hand on the tree and I will save you!"

His voice was so tantalizing and authoritive she somehow found the strength to feebly move her wounded hand towards the tree. Her arm dragged across the dirt ground towards the bottom of the bark near the roots. Time seemed to pass by slowly. It felt like it had taken her minutes before her hand finally pressed against something solid. She knew it must have taken her only a couple seconds but her body was drained of all energy leaving her sense of time distorted. Her bloodied hand dragged down the bark smearing her blood over the tree before falling limply to the ground. Everything was a blur after that. She vaguely noticed the sound of branches snapping in the background and bits of wood sprinkling on and around her body. Gabriels form was soon ripped off of her releiving her of his weight. Then came the inhuman sound of a painfully loud wail and the sound of flesh and bone being torn. None of this was enough to phase her. She couldn't even worry about herself at this point. She knew she had lost to much blood and it was only a matter of time before this all would be over. She didn't know how long she laid there with her eyes closed and thoughts blank. She would have thought she was already dead had a sudden light tickle not began making its way down her cheek to the wound on her neck. She heard a mans voice ring through the air but it was in language she couldn't understand.

Someone then gently forced her face away from the ground with their hand against her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes to small slits trying to see who it was leaning over her. Her vision was blurry but it cleared just enough for her to recognise who it was. It was the demon from her dream.


	8. Chapter 8 part 1

_a/n Sorry for the long wait. Review please._

**xxx**

Everything was white. Blinking away the exhaustion that weighed down her eyes, she pushed herself up from her back so her upper body was resting back onto her elbows. When she looked around it took her a few seconds to register her surroundings, there was literally nothing to take in. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was something she'd only imagined when trying to picture what a universe of nothing would look like. She was lying right in the very center of an abyss of pure white. Staring up into a white sheet of sky she slowly pushed herself up onto her feet. It was hard to tell if this place expanded forever, or just didn't expand at all.

There was the distinct feeling of having something solid beneath her feet supporting her weight, but it appeared to her as though she was floating in mid air. Surprisingly she wasn't in a panic like she normally would have been. She was calm, everything felt calm, like no time was passing, she just was. And then she noticed when she looked down towards her feet that she wasn't wearing any clothes. She was standing there completely naked, though it really couldn't have bothered her less. She never would have noticed if she hadn't looked down. Their was no chill in the air to cool her bare skin, no wind to sweep through her hair, this place… was it just her mind playing tricks on her? Her mind felt unusually blank, as if shrouded with a thick haze that clouded every thought and memory that wanted to pass through her head. She continued to observe her lack of surroundings, somehow she could sense that she wasn't supposed be here.

"I am so pleased that I'm able to meet with you face to face."

A woman's gentle voice called out, seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

Whirling around in surprise she was stunned to find a woman dressed in long golden robes standing before her. Her eyes were heavily shadowed by the hood of her robes casting a dark shadow over most of her features. With her shoulders drawn back and arms hanging loosely at her sides, she held a commanding presence, and Paige had the strange urge to look away. She couldn't help wondering how the woman could even see her with her hood hanging over the top of her nose.

"I know you must be confused considering everything that's been happening to you. Unfortunately our time together is limited so I'll have to get to the point of our meeting as quickly as possible. What I'm here to say is not something I can fully explain in such short time, so I ask only that you do not interrupt my words."

As the woman spoke Paige noticed that this woman who stood before her in golden robes had the gray silhouette of long slender wings tucked idly behind her back. They were nothing like the large raven wings of the demon she'd encountered before.

With that unexpected thought a sudden flash of malicious black eyes staring at her from beneath the bangs of his silver white hair flashed through her mind. The haze residing inside her mind snatched the image away as fast as it had came leaving her thoughts in a disarrayed confusion. She couldn't begin to understand where she was or how she had even gotten here. Her last memory was stumbling upon a large river in the forest and noticing that the sun was going down. She couldn't remember why but she had had no choice but to camp out. She recalled watching the sun set but then after that her memory went blank. Even while trying to sort out her thoughts she managed to cling to every word the woman said. She couldn't help noticing that she had offered to explain to her.

"I'll begin by answering the basic questions running through your mind right now. Where we are both standing is a place that doesn't physically exist in either of our worlds. We're in between the pathways of my blessed realm Evasana and the mortal world, where you are from."

She must have seen the questioning look on Paige's face because she began to talk more briskly upon explaining.

"I don't expect you to understand right away but it's urgent that I tell you all I can about what has been happening to you."

The woman took a few steps forward positioning herself a couple feet in front of Paige. From what she could see of the woman's face she could tell this woman was young, at least in her early twenties.

"You may call me Delvay, I'm very pleased to meet with you."

A hint of a smile crossed the hooded woman's lips before swiftly disappearing back into a non expressive line.

"I've been watching you very closely since the day you encountered Kaile. I sense something special in you, something pure and innocent, beyond the reach of the Krusnik's power. I have already foreseen that you will be playing a significant role when it comes to the fate of what will happen to your world."

Delvay took Paige's hands into her own and gently cradled them between their bodies. Her touch was light like the slight tickle of a feathers bristles. Her light touch wouldn't have been noticeable had she not been holding Paige's hands up in front of her eyes.

"What are you talking about, who is Kaile?"

A short sigh escaped Delvay before she tucked Paige's hands back to her sides and stepped away.

"We don't have a lot of time so let me explain quickly. First you need to know that starting from the moment we part I will be able to help you very little. The only assistance I dare offer you is sight through your dreams. I am one of the watchers of my realm and I can willingly see fragments of the future or soon to be dangers that might take place in the mortal world. I don't always get the workings of what fate has in store right but I usually get the basis of what I see correct."

Furrowing her brow at these words she crossed her arms over her flat stomach and cast her eyes downwards. What this woman was saying sounded completely crazy. She'd always been taught to think rationally about situations since she was a small child, but nothing about this situation seemed even possible. She wondered what her parents would say if they could see her now. Was it possible that maybe she was just dreaming…

She quickly looked up from the ground and scanned her surroundings again. This did feel like a dream. She felt numb to her emotions and there was this weight inside of her mind telling her that something was off. She could feel it, as if there were a barrier holding her emotions and memories back. Somehow she knew there was something significant that she needed to remember but everything was to well hidden for her to get to. She tried stretching her mind's muscles into the farthest reaches of her thoughts but nothing came to her. Her concentration was short lived when the woman began to speak again. She hadn't even noticed that she'd paused.

"Everything will become clear to you once you've woken up."

"So is this…"

She gestured to their surroundings with her eyes.

"This is just a dream?..."

Delvay slightly shook her head while her features took on a mournful expression.

"I wish it were so, but no. You were able to come here because your physical body has lost an immense amount of blood. Any human would be dead right now, but not you."

Her voice rang with what suspiciously sounded like praise.

"Right now as we speak your mortal body is fighting to cling to whatever remnants of life it can. You're very lucky to be alive… but still very unfortunate all the same… In your weakened state Belvair was able to persuade you into setting him free and by doing so you broke the seal that was imprisoning him. He has taken your wounded body to shelter where he is trying right now to keep the demons venom at bay. This act of kindness he's showing towards you has to be his most shocking and questionable act yet."

Everything Delvay was trying to tell her made no sense. She couldn't remember anything that had happened no matter how much she strained to get past the barrier.

"What happened to me?"

"If we had more time I would explain everything but he is successfully stabilizing your body much faster then expected. Very soon you will no longer be stretching the limits of death and you'll return to your original body. When you awake you will remember everything, so don't worry about finding your memories now. I don't know what will happen to you when you wake up but know that I will always be watching you. I will find ways to communicate with you through some of the mortals who have not yet lost faith. Now listen carefully to what I'm about to say. If for some reason Belvair plans to hurt you or leave you behind I want you to give him this message. Tell him that you spoke with me, his sister. Tell him that fate has shown me his future. A great weapon has come into existence and in the end you Paige will be the only one to decide who shall hold its power."

"Me?..."

"This all began thousands of years ago, way before your time. I'm sorry that you've been dragged into the middle of this war, but if it hadn't been you then it would have just been somebody else."

Paige stood there completely speechless. The more Delvay tried to explain the more she wasn't making sense. There was a war now?

"I wish I could tell you more but I can already feel you slipping away."

Nervously she looked down towards her feet afraid she might start falling into the white abyss. When the invisible ground beneath her didn't give way she looked back towards Delvay.

"I don't feel anything."

Delvay gave the tiniest hint of a smile and made to grab for her hand. It was a bit of a shock when Delvays hand slipped right through her own. She widened her eyes in surprise.

"What just happened, why can't you touch me?"

Delvay slowly backed away with the small smile never wavering.

"Until we speak again... Do not forget what I told you to tell Belvair. Goodbye Paige-"

With those last words echoing through her mind a warm tingle began to creep up her body from the soles of her feet. She looked down to find her limbs disappearing as the warm tingle moved upward. She attempted a gasp of surprise but her throat closed off immediately, and she seemed to lose all control over her body leaving her rooted to the spot. Very suddenly the whiteness that surrounded her slowly began melting away, it was like wet paint melting off a wall on a hot summers day. She didn't see any sign of Delvay as the warmth reached up her neck and finally swallowed her head whole. It was then that the whiteness was replaced with complete darkness.

Drip, drip, drip.

A horrible echo resounded through her head pulling her away from an odd dream. It was an interesting one, probably the most intricate dream she'd ever had. She was reluctant to leave so soon, she was just getting to the good part.

Drip, drip, drip.

It was warm here… so comfortable. Her head was pressed against something soft and her body wrapped in a comfortable warmth. Deep in the workings of her mind she hoped she'd never have to move from this spot.

Drip, drip, drip… drip, drip

She _was feeling a bit_ thirsty though. The thought of having herself a glass of water sounded almost as satisfying as falling back into dream land. Maybe she'd have a glass before going back to sleep.

"Shhh you'll be alright."

A slight tickle rolled over the back of her head tempting her to fall back to sleep. Someone was gently stroking her hair and speaking to her.

"Here drink the rest of this grevisna before you doze back off."

The pad of someone's thumb traced over her bottom lip before forcing her to part her lips with the rim of a cup. Water did sound delicious. Without resisting she allowed whoever it was to tilt the glass forward. A cold thick liquid oozed over her tongue before she took a large gulp. She barely registered the bitter taste of the drink she was given. She was to tired to care, all she wanted was more sleep.

"Goodnight my little human, tomorrow we will speak."

That voice sounded familiar. It was a man she'd met before but at the moment she couldn't recall who. It didn't really matter though, maybe she'd fall back into that interesting dream she was having. Dreaming had always been one of her very fondest pleasures; her imagination could cook up any fantasies she wished to play out and no one would ever know about it but her. With that last satisfying thought she was pulled into a deep sleep forgetting she had ever woken up.


	9. Chapter 8 Part 2

**A/N **_I completely rushed through this chapter in a matter of an hour and a half. Its not as detailed as i'd like but this story needs to start moving again. Thank you for all reviews. :) Enjoy._

**Part 2**

The sound of her ragged breathing was the only sound that could be heard amongst the trees. A full moon hung high against the starless sky casting streaks of white light through the leaves above. Cold sweat clung to her skin, thoroughly soaking her clothes. Fear was coursing through her veins, twisting her insides with its cold fingers. He was coming for her and this time he was going to kill her. She raced through the dark maze of trees ahead never once daring to look back. She needed to find somewhere to hide, somewhere he could never find her. She scanned over her surroundings as she ran hoping to come across some place to hide, but all she could make out were the endless outline of trees. A wave of hopelessness washed through her body, tightening her chest with an unspoken sob. He was going to catch her any moment now, no matter how fast she ran. She could already feel her legs growing tired, and with each intake of breath a sharp pain raced through her lower abdomen.

No, she couldn't let it end like this, not after she'd gotten this far. With a sense of fresh determination she widened her pace, ignoring the pain that coursed through her legs and stomach. The dark outline of trees rushed past her in a shadowy blur. Her new sense of determination didn't take long to waver. The seconds stretched on into minutes and soon she found herself stumbling slightly in her weariness. She felt like a helpless animal being taunted and preyed upon by some ruthless, horrible creature. Though she couldn't see him she knew he was out there. With her legs not being able to take her much further she slowed her pace until her palms came to rest on the trunk of a tree. It was almost impossible to listen for any sounds of disturbance over her own hoarse uneven breathing. Absently she wiped the sweat of her palms over the trousers she was wearing. Her hands were shaking so badly it felt uncomfortable voluntarily moving her fingers against the cloth.

To her utter horror a boy's laughter suddenly rang through the air coming from right behind her. Squeezing her eyes shut, tears streaked down her cheek.

"Are we done playing cat and mouse now?"

Gathering what courage she had left, she slowly turned around to face her pursuer. First she found herself only staring into the empty heavily shadowed clearings between the trees, but then a boy stepped out from behind one of them, revealing himself under the moons light. Her eyes widened in sheer panic. She couldn't face him again, not like this. His steely eyes watched her hungrily from beneath a bushy mane of blonde hair.

"Don't worry I'm done playing your little games sis. This time I'll make it fast."

Crouching down she cowered in the shadows. Pressing her backside against the tree she sobbed into her hands. How had it come to this? Her body trembled with each new wave of tears that flowed down her pale cheeks. Her own flesh and blood, the person she loved most in this world had become a monster. She was crying so hard now she didn't hear him approach her. A cold hand crushed her shoulder in its grip and pushed her to the floor. She winced in pain but made no move to fight back. Curling up into the fetal position she threw her arms over her head.

Letting out a growl of irritation he grabbed her arm, digging his nails deep into her skin. She didn't fight him when he pulled her arm away from her face and lunged down for her neck. His sharp teeth easily broke the skin making her cringe further into herself. And then it came, a familiar burning pain began pulsing through her body. The pain was so unbearable she squeezed her eyes tight and began screaming.

"Aaaahhh-"

Choking on her own scream her eyes shot open.

"Shhh it was only a dream."

A man hushed to her in a gentle voice. She made to crane her head in the direction of the voice but a stinging pain enveloped her neck and shoulders. Quickly she gave up that minor task and stared straight up. Everything was pitch black but she could feel that she was lying in a small bed and covered in blankets.

"Oh I'll get the light, I forgot you humans can't see much in the dark."

The bed suddenly shifted with the release of someone's weight. She listened to the sound of soft footsteps move away from the bed, a flicker and then an orange light illuminated the room with a soft glow. The man moved back towards her and took his place next to her on the bed. Very slowly she turned her head towards him. Her neck ached and stung in protest but she managed to turn her head enough to look straight at him. A man with unkempt black hair and dark honey eyes stared back at her with a weak smile to soften his features. His face looked gaunt and his skin an unhealthy milky shade. Messy bangs framed his face allowing the light to cast some shadow over his face.

"You must be feeling exhausted. How does your neck feel?"

Her throat burned when she swallowed causing her to wince. Her glands felt swollen like she was just waking up with the flu. Parting her lips she croaked, "Waater…"

His eyebrows raised in confusion before a look of realization hit him.

"Oh yes, you must be parched."

He swiftly moved from the bed across the room once again. This time she didn't fail to notice the large black wings that protruded from his back. Her eyes widened in fear. Stiffly she pushed herself up with her hands. He must have sensed her movement because he spun around right when she had barely sat up. Her eyes wild with fear, she backed away pushing herself against the wall.

"S-s-stay away from me!"

Once again he looked confused by her response but this time said nothing. He stood where he was still as a statue, watching her with concern apparent on his face.

"W-who are you? Where is this place?"

Her voice came out as a disgruntled croak very much unlike her normal voice. Her heart was racing inside her chest. She'd seen those wings before.

Without moving he watched her carefully as she cowered in the corner of the bed. Finally after a few seconds of silence he took a small step forward and spoke in a cool voice.

"My name is Ganon. I had no place to take you so I brought you here. We're in a cabin northeast of where you were attacked."

Silence followed his sentence filling the room with an uncomfortable atmosphere. She stared at him in disbelief, racking her brain for the memories of how she got here. Very swiftly it all started coming back to her. The tall contorted tree looming over her, Gabriel chasing her down, the way he chewed off the flesh of her hand, the voice inside her head. It all seemed like some hellish nightmare coming back to haunt her. She stared down at her lap trying to organize the numerous trains of thought running through her mind. The hand that Gabriel had bitten was now curled in her lap bandaged in a beige cloth, a deep brown blood stain bleeding through.

"You don't need to be scared anymore. I killed that disgusting creature that attacked you."

He forced out the last sentence like the words tasted vile on his tongue.

"You were very fortunate, I was able to get to you just in time to stop the venom from taking you. A few more minutes and your condition would have been irreversible."

She stared up at him, only one sentence registering through her mind.

'_I killed that disgusting creature that attacked you.'_

Tears of fear glimmered in her eyes but they didn't fall. She hoped beyond hope that he didn't mean Gabriel when he said that.

"You…you killed him?... The small boy that was chasing me?"

Deep down she already knew the answer but denial swelled like a leech inside her mind. The man offered a relieved smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.

"Yes, there's no need to be afraid anymore, he's gone forever."

It was like he couldn't have spoken a better phrase that would crush her soul like he just did now. A wave of fiery, sorrow, grief, and exhaustion all rolled through her body causing her to tremble with an over haul of emotions. The tears that had been waiting there now flowed freely from her wide eyes. He was gone. Her baby brother was gone forever, murdered. Murdered by the man standing only a few feet from her. All reasonable thoughts raced from her mind leaving her filled with blind rage.

Squeezing her hands in a tight fist she whispered more to herself then at him.

"You monster."

The skin on her wounded hand stretched, beginning to throb with a stinging pain. The blood stain began to turn a deep red again as the open wound began to bleed freely.

She heard the man take a few steps forward but he kept his distance.

"You're causing your wound to open again. Was it wrong that I saved you from that half demon?"

"Half demon…"

Without another thought but the pure hatred coursing through her mind, she sprang from the bed. Her voice resounded through the room, a crazed high pitched shrill as she screamed in fury. She was on him within half a second. Putting as much force behind her punches as she could muster, she slammed his face and chest continually with her fists.

"YOU DEMON! HOW COULD YOU? YOU LOATHSOME- HOW, WHY, I HATE YOU!"

Her eyes were so blurred with tears she couldn't see the man's reaction, but before she could take another swing at his face his hand wrapped around her upper arm and he threw across the room. Her backside hit edge of a small end table sending it careening to the floor with a loud bang. Quickly recovering she struggled to push herself up. He moved faster then any man should be capable of. Suddenly upon her he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her against the wall. She struggled to breathe, kicking her feet against the wooden wall. She fought to unhinge his fingers from around her neck but they didn't budge.

It was like déjà vu being held up by the neck staring into the deep black eyes of this black winged man. Only this time instead of long silver hair he had black hair.

All signs of exhaustion had abandoned him leaving his face lined with anger.

"How dare you attack me. After I saved your life!"

A throaty snarl ended that sentence before he spoke again.

"You must be insane, or just really want me to kill you."

Her breath came out in uneven wheezing as she struggled to breathe underneath his grip.

"I should kill you right now for what you just did."

Pressing the soles of her feet against the wall she tried to lift herself up from his grip so she could have more room for air. Fearing for her life she managed to say the one thing that might save her in this situation.

"Dhhelvayy…"

She could barely speak in an audible whisper.

"What did you say!"

That name seemed to catch his attention because he loosened his grip only slightly.

"Dhhelavy."

She watched him furrow his brow in a clashing of obvious curiosity and anger. Slowly he lowered her to the ground so her tip toes were now grazing the floor.

"What about Delvay?"

Taking in a large breath she relaxed her grip around his fingers a little bit. Closing her eyes she reached into her mind to remember the words that could save her.

"Spit it out human!"

Her eyes shot open to stare into the man's angry face again.

"She um, she told me to give Belvair a message."

It happened so fast that she didn't register what had happened until she'd limply fallen to the floor onto her hands and knees. He backed away giving her room to breath evenly. She stared at his worn black boots not wanting to look up into those black eyes again.

"What was the message?"

Barely pulling her head up so she could see past his knees, she examined the room looking for a door or a window she could escape through. It was no surprise to find a closed door on the opposite side of the room. Luck was something she had never had on her side.

"She told me that their is a weapon that has come into existence…and that I'm the only one who can choose who will use it."

He slowly paced in front of her, most likely looking down at her by the sound of his voice.

"Is that so… What kind of weapon?"

"I…I don't know, she didn't say."

"Of course she didn't!" He spat.

"That's just like her. She loves to keep everyone in the dark, guessing until its to late to turn back."

He stopped his pacing his voice becoming distant.

"But what's worse that could happen to me, I'm already in hell. Except Kaile…"

His voice drifted off as if he was lost in thought. She didn't dare interrupt him afraid he would remember that he was just in the middle of deciding to kill her. The seconds passed in silence, her staring down at the floor between her hands. The bandage's original color was no longer apparent, her whole hand soaked in fresh blood.

"Fine if that's how she wants to play, then I'll play. I've just woken up from a long sleep and I'm sure everyone must be missing me."

His voice was no longer gentle or furious but filled with a vengeful amusement.

"You can stand up now. I've decided to forgive you for attacking me. But try something like that again and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Swallowing the forming lump in her throat she weakly pushed herself up. The pain in her neck and shoulders was painfully throbbing again now that the last of her adrenaline had diminished. She found that she had to lean against the wall for support, her legs and arms shaking. Her body had taken such a beating these last few days that she just wanted to sleep again. Forget that her life was now a living hell.

Wearily she watched him pace around the room. He seemed like he was deep in thought. Pushing all her thoughts away she limped over to the bed and layed down on her back. She was to tired to handle anything more.


	10. Chapter 9

Sleep came easily for her. Once she layed down her mind was eager to get away from everything. This time she didn't dream about her now deceased brother trying to kill her or about a woman in robes telling her things she didn't understand. Thankfully she didn't dream at all. By the time she woke up light was spilling in through the windows lighting up the single room house she was in. When she opened her eyes pain like nothing she had ever felt before throbbed ceaselessly through her entire body, especially her neck. She found it harder to breathe today than it was yesterday. Most likely when that man had strangled her he had made her neck injury worse.

Not bothering to look around she layed there completely still. The only way to tell she were alive was by the slight rise and fall of her chest. She didn't feel paniced when all the memories came flooding back, by now her mind expected the horror of her new life. Silent tears streaked down the side of her face wetting the stiff pillow she was resting against. She watched dust particles moving through the air blankly. From the silence in the room she could tell she was alone. She didn't know how long she layed there silently crying but after what must have been a few hours she fell back into sleep once again forgetting the pain.

When she awoke again it was no longer day time. Shadows enveloped the room keeping their distance away from an orange glow coming from the corner of the room.

"I see you're finally awake, I was wondering how long you were going to be out."

That familiar deep accented voice caused an unpleasant shudder to roll through her body. Earlier she had hoped he had forgotten about her and left her there to die.

"Your body is considerably weak, I'm going to need to change your bandages at least once a day until it closes and starts healing properly. I'm sure you must be hungry too. I brought you some bread and fresh water."

The man walked over to her side sliding a chair in place next to the bed. He sat down next to her head and leaned over. She didn't dare move. She knew if she moved the aching in her body would intensify double. He slowly lifted the bandage that was wrapped around her neck and peered at her wound. It was so dark in the corner where she lay she wondered how he could see her injuries at all.

"Tsk, its healing very slowly. I forgot you humans have such frail bodies. We'll probably be stuck here for two or three weeks until you're healthy enough to move again."

She wanted to speak. To tell him to get his filthy hands away from her. To tell him to leave without her and let her die in peace but she just couldn't muster the energy, so she lay there silently as he put the bandage back in place.

"I'm going to help you sit up a little bit so you can drink some of this water. It might hurt a bit to move but you need to drink something."

He slid his arm behind her shoulders and lifted her up enough so that she wouldnt choke when he pressed the water cup to her lips. He was right, it hurt like hell to move just those couple inches. She moaned in protest but nothing came out of her throat. Slowly cold water was poured into her mouth. She opened up her throat and drank the sweet water he was giving her. It took great effort to swallow but she finally drained the cup after a minute or so. He pulled the cup back from her moist lips and settled her back in the position she had been lying in.

"Alright get some rest, Ill give you some food tomorrow. You're not ready to chew anything yet so i'll have to make you a broth."

Sleep came easier to her then expected. Before she knew it she was back again to forgetting the pain.

After a couple days had passed she completely lost track of the date and time. Night and day were now the same thing to her. She never stayed awake more then a couple hours in its twenty four hour span anyway. She noted that the monster who had murdered her brother was always there. He would consistently change her bandages and always spoon fed her a watery broth that held no flavor. At first the pain refused to let up but after many many days she could gradually feel her body becoming stronger.

After one of his usual check ups on her bandages he looked down at her with a truimphant smile on his face.

"You're becoming healthier."

This was the first time she had actually looked at him since that day he almost killed her. He was no longer gaunt and sickly in appearance. His face was full, any hint of his sunken in cheeks and the bags under his eyes were completely gone. His hair was no longer tangled and straw like but but full and wild. It was such a huge transformation she had to keep staring to make sure it was the same person. His honey eyes were the same hue they had been and his voice deep and rich with an unfamiliar accent, those attributes were confirmation enough. But for some reason it still shocked her that he looked so much younger and healthier in such a short time, and here she was still bed ridden.

"Do you think it would be too painful to try and turn your head a bit? It might be good to work those muscles so you can loosen them up a bit. Your muscles are stiff from not being used."

Averting her gaze from his leaning form she began to slowly turn her head to the left. He was right her neck was extremely stiff and not to mention the pain. She stopped almost immediately, if she were to turn her head any further it would hurt too much.

"That's as far as I can go..."

Her voice was weak but at least she could finally speak without it taking all her energy.

"That was still progress, I'm glad you're getting better."

With that said he left her side and walked over to the corner of the room where a rickety wooden table stood, paperback and hardcover books were piled on the floor around it. Whenever he wasn't sitting at that table reading he would be by her side nursing her back to health. Sometimes he would leave but when he did she was usually asleep. Everything was so confusing. She didn't understand why he was being so nice to her. The first night she had woken up here he had tried to kill her... But since then he hasn't spoken about delvay or her brother.

She remembered something Delvay had said to her. For some reason the words kept popping in her mind.

_"This act of kindness he's showing towards you has to be his most shocking and questionable act yet."_

Why was it so shocking? Who was this 'person'?

If she ever got better she had a thousand questions that he needed to answer...


	11. Chapter 10

"Here try to chew this. There's beans in this soup so it's going to be harder to swallow."

He put the steaming spoonful up to her lips. It actually smelled like food. She parted her lips allowing the spoon to enter her mouth. It didn't hurt as much to chew as she thought it would. The beans were soft and practically crumbled in her mouth anyway. He must have let the beans soak for much longer then required.

"How does it feel?"

He was holding her up with an arm wrapped around her shoulders so she could swallow more easily.

"It tastes delicious."

She sent him a shy smile before letting her features fall back to a blank stare. For some reason she hated showing him any emotion. Just smiling at him made her feel slightly sick. It had to be the manners her parents had grounded into her mind that made it impossible for her to not show him at least some gratitude.

He smiled weakly down at her.

"Good that's what I was aiming for."

She sensed sarcasm in that statement but said nothing of it as he brought another spoonful of soup to her lips. When he was finished he laid her down slowly against the pillow.

This time she couldn't help staring at him as he did so. He got so close to her they were almost hugging. When her head was back to being pressed against the pillow he took his arm back from under her and walked gracefully over to the table that was covered in books.

Her gaze followed him. She was finally strong enough to turn her head any which way she liked as long as it was slowly. He sat down and snatched a book from one of the many piles by his feet. It was a hardcover book that must have been four inches thick. She couldn't help wondering what he was reading. The lighting coming from the candle was much to dim for her to read the titles from that far. Before she even thought about it the question left her mouth.

"What are you reading?"

He looked up from the open book in his lap. He seemed a bit surprised she had spoken at all. Since she had gotten her voice back she had chosen to speak to him as little as possible, meaning she never spoke unless he asked her a question about how she was feeling physically.

" It's called Cassiodorus Ecclesiastical History."

She couldn't help letting a slight frown grace her features. He said that so effortlessly and she didnt even know what those words meant.

"It's called what?"

He began reading from the book resting in his lap speaking to her in a bored tone.

"It's the earliest book I could find from my time. Its a documentation of events that occured during the 6th century."

She stayed silent. The 6th century... It was the year 1889 now so that was thousands of years ago.

Again Delvays words popped into her mind.

_"This all began thousands of years ago, way before your time. I'm sorry that you've been dragged into the middle of this war, but if it hadn't been you then it would have just been somebody else."_

Biting her lip she turned away from him. Right now she didn't need to know. She would wait until she was stronger to ask this man anything more.

Slowly opening her eyes her vision adjusted to the penetrating light coming in through the windows. Sweat clung to her skin making the gown she was wearing feel sticky. It was too hot today to be under these blankets. Slowly she tossed the blankets off the bed and sat up in bed. It had been a week since she had spoken to Belvair... Right now he didn't seem to be anywhere in sight meaning he had gone off on his own to do god knows what. Placing her feet on the floor she hesitated to stand up. She hadn't stood since the first night she was here.

Glancing around she took in the contents of the room. She was obviously in a cabin, and the place was oddly empty. The only furniture that decorated the room were the bed she was sitting on, an end table next to the bed, the shabby table that was littered with books and a wood burning stove off to the left of her. There were no portraits or dressers, no toys or articles of clothing. Even though they must have been residing there for weeks, if not for the books and unmade bed you'd be able to tell this place was deserted.

Taking in a deep breath she closed her eyes. Today was the day she was going to stand up and get back her strength on her own. Concentrating on her muscles she stretched her arms over her head letting out a long breath before taking in another lung full of air. pulling up her legs she stretched them in front of her pointing her tip toes at the wall across the way. Opening her eyes she placed her feet back on the floor and braced herself.

Inching forward she steadily began to put weight onto her feet. It wasn't long before she was standing, holding onto the bed frame for support. Taking in another deep breath she took a small step forward and then another. A large smile she hadn't known was coming split across her face. She was walking! Letting go of the bed frame she slowly made her way over to the table surrounded with books. Her legs felt wobbly but they were strong enough to hold her up.

When she reached the table she sat down in the wooden chair. For a long time now she had wanted to see what it was he was reading without having to ask him again.

Alot of the books looked like they were about to fall apart they were so damaged. Grabbing the closest book to her her eyes scanned over the title.

'De Nugis Curialium'

Opening the small hardcover book she found it was written in an unfamiliar language.

"That's odd..."

Placing the book aside she grabbed another book. This one was called, 'László Turóczi's _Tragica Historia'_

The only thing she got out of that sentence was Tragica Historia meaning Tragic History.

"Hmmm."

Pursing her lips she set the book aside. Why was he reading all these history books in different languages?

"I'm glad to see you have the strength to walk."

Gasping in surprise she shot up from her seat. Belvair was standing in the doorway eyeing her with those unnatural honey colored eyes. He looked healthier than ever. His black wild hair was soaked sending water droplets down his shoulders and bare stomach. The only clothing that covered his skin were a pair of dark blue trousers that looked alot like the trousers those officers at her house had been wearing.

For some reason she felt like she had just been caught in the act of doing something wrong. Blushing slightly she looked down towards the ground.

"Yes I'm feeling alot stronger than I was a couple days ago."

He shut the door behind him and walked over to where she stood.

"That's good but you must be careful not to over exert yourself. Sit down, I'm going to check your injuries."

Not having the energy to disobey she sat back down in the wooden chair.

He crouched down onto his knees and started with the bandage around her hand. She couldn't help noticing how naked he was or how he was so close she could touch his wings if she had wanted. His black wings were dripping water onto the floor behind him, the black feathers slicked down heavy with water.

"Since you have some of your strength back I imagine you must have some questions you'd like to ask me." He continued working off her bandage not looking up at her as he spoke.

This was just the opening she needed. She had so many unanswered questions.

"I-well...Yeah I do."

Why did she feel nervous? A sudden tightening in her chest made her want to back away from him.

"Ill answer any questions you'd like but you have to make me a promise."

Finally unwrapping the last of the bandage he looked up from the forming scar on her hand. Staring into his honey eyes from such a short distance was somehow exhilarating. Forgetting the forming lump in her chest she stared hard at him. His face was only a foot away from her own. She didn't know how she knew but she could tell that those eyes held a volume of knowledge and strength behind them. It was almost like staring into the eyes of a god.

"I...promise?"

It was beginning to become hard to think straight.

"Yes. For every question of yours I answer, you must answer a question of mine in return. But you must not lie to me."

Nodding her head she unconsciously bit her bottom lip. That seemed like a fair promise.

"Alright...Well my first question I guess is... Who are you? As in I mean what are you and where did you come from?"

Clicking his tongue he actually smiled a little bit.

"Which is it? Who am I? Where did I come from? Or what am I?"

The way he said it actually made her smile a little bit in turn.

"Can it be all of those in one? I mean you're going to end up telling me anyway."

He stayed quiet for a minute as he peered down at her hand. Visible teeth marks were ingrained into her skin that she knew would leave a permanent scar. The wound itself was closed leaving purple healing skin behind. He had insisted earlier that the scar stay covered with a bandage because it was still sensitive to infection.

"Alright. My real name is Belvair. If I were to tell you my whole name you would never be able to remember it so I'll leave it at that. I don't go by Belvair anymore so call me Ganon."

He swiftly re wrapped the bandage around her hand and moved upwards to her neck. This position drew them closer causing her to remember that knot in her chest.

"Where did I come from... Well I come from Evasana where all angels reside."

She couldn't help stiffening. I guess she had been expecting that girl in her dream to be some sort of angel but him?

As if reading her thoughts he continued.

"I'm not an Angel anymore...They damned me to this fate I'm living now."

By how strained his voice was she could tell his calm facade was beginning to melt away.

" I was sent down to this place you call earth along with six other Angels thousands of years ago. Normally Angels do not directly engage in human affairs but the human race was becoming close to extinct then and we couldn't ignore your prayers and cries for help any longer. A pact a human had made with a demon caused the spread of vampirism through out the lands. The venom they carried in their bodies could turn a human into a mindless cannibal in as little as half a day. I remember everything as clearly as if it had happened just now. We fought against the vampires wiping them out easily. What we had not foreseen was the venom having an effect on our bodies. We all must have been bit hundreds of times over, it was inevitable that we would be bitten, we were all out numbered by thousands. Having only mortals who were brave enough to fight along side us."

He re wrapped the bandage around her neck and leaned against the rickety table. She was so engrossed in everything he was saying she hadnt even noticed him unwrap her bandage.

"We wiped out over half of the vampires that plagued this land before my body began to change... My skin suddenly became hot.. My teeth grew sharp...My wings lost their purity and turned to the color of ash. It was when I began to have a foreign thirst...A thirst for blood that I knew I had become one of them."

He squeezed his hand into a fist, his body was visibly shaking with fury.

"After I had turned we all slowly began to turn into what we are now. In a panic we tried to return Evasana hoping our fellow Angels would be able to help us...but they locked us out. They told us we were no longer holy creatures, tainted by the vampires venom. That's when..."

He stared down at the floor his form visibly shaking.

Not wanting him to stop she decided to break the silence. "Ganon?"

He looked up at her as if he were surprised she was in the room at all.

"Yes well that answers your questions then. Now it's my turn."

Biting her lip in disappointment she was literally at a loss of words. Everything he had told her raised even more questions. They were going to be here for a very long time.


	12. Chapter 11

It was a lot to take in. She really had no idea what she was expecting him to say, but so far that story he had given her, it was hard to comprehend. If she tried to disprove it's credibility she found that impossible. After everything she'd seen and been through it was probably a very likely story. Just Angels, Vampires, he even mentioned a Demon, it all scared her. If this was all true then it was almost like everything she had known before didn't matter. She wasn't ignorant anymore. Going back to her old life would only torture her.

She looked up at Ganon to find him watching her with a blank stare on his face. Those golden eyes were impossible to read. She couldn't begin to guess what was going through his head right now. Averting her eyes to the floor she cleared her throat nervously.

"Um so what was your question?"

"What did Delvay tell you? I need you to tell me everything she said and everything that happened when you were speaking with her."

Her mind reached back to the memory of when she encountered Delvay. She had been in a dream when they'd met. Stuck within the grasp of death for however long she had been there.

"Well... Its funny how I remember it so clearly. These last few days Ive been feeling like my mind has been choosing what it wants to remember and forget. It was right after..."

She cringed when she remembered Gabriel that night. Just the act of saying his name would probably break her down to tears. Biting her tongue she stopped herself mid sentence.

"It was right before I woke up here. She brought me to this strange place where everything was white, it felt as if nothing existed but us. She said it was a place between Evasana and my mortal realm..."

This was actually the first she had really thought about it since it happened. She had been trying so hard to forget her pain these last couple weeks she had stopped herself from remembering and piecing things together entirely.

"Yes I remember she said she'd been watching me."

Now that she thought about it Delvay had said alot of things that didn't make sense.

"She'd been watching me since the day I encountered someone named Kaile. She told me I was pure, and that it would hinder the Krusniks power."

She stopped there. She suddenly didn't want to tell him that Delvay had told her she would be playing a significant role when it came to the fate of what will happen to this world. If she told him that what would he think? She was just a normal girl she didn't want this 'guy' thinking she was anyone significant. What would that mean for her if he did?

"Go on."

She looked up from the floor. She didn't notice he had taken a step closer to her.

"There's no need to hold back. You can trust me."

She continued to stare up at him. She could have sworn his eyes had turned black for just a second when he said that. Trust him... She hadn't regarded that subject. Why would she trust him? If anything she probably shouldn't trust him at all. Biting her inner lip she tried to think of something to say, the atmosphere was beginning to feel strange.

"After that she told me to give you that message, that a weapon has come into existence... And I will decide who will hold its power."

So much for not seeming significant.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Is that everything?"

She let the memory of her meeting with Delvay marinate in her mind a little longer. That had basically been everything.

"Yes that was it. After that I woke up..."

He gave her a look that said he looked anything but convinced.

"What is your name?"

Her eyes widened. After all these weeks and she had never given him her name. She found that oddly surprising. Absently thinking she held out her hand and did a slight curtsy.

"My name is Paige Forrester."

He stared at her outstretched hand with a puzzled look. Blushing slightly she pulled her hand back to her side. She needed to stop trying to be polite.

"Sorry that's how I'm supposed to introduce myself when introducing myself for the first time to a man."

"That's... Interesting."

His voice sounded a little strained. Crossing his arms over his chest he took another step forward.

"Delvay may have already told you..."

He clicked his tongue. He was letting her know he knew she wasn't telling him everything.

"But I've been imprisoned for a very long time. I've lost knowledge of the customs and teachings of this era. Everything Ive learned about today I've read in a book."

He took another step forward.

"Meaning you Paige are my only living connection to learning how this world is ran. Whenever I have a question that you know the answer to you must tell me immediately."

He leaned down bringing their faces an inch apart.

"Do you understand?"

He raised a single brow as if he were teasing her. She watched him for a moment longer before responding.

"Yes... W-why were you imprisoned?"

He remained standing only an inch from her face with that shrewd look. She could feel his hot breath breeze past her cheek.

"Because after I was turned into what I am now Kaile and the other Krusnik, as you humans have liked to call them, turned on me. Kaile is a cunning liar, he sealed me in darkness for all these years. It wasn't until you came along that I was able to be here where I'm standing now."

She swallowed hard as she took a step back.

"Kaile...?"

"Yes that filthy traitor. You've apparently met him before. How was that?"

She stared up at him not actually looking at him.

Kaile... The memory of the silver haired demon stole her attention. That was Kaile. Just thinking about him made her want to scream in fury. Him. He was the start of this whole situation.

"I can see it didn't go over well."

Closing the gap between them he pulled her forward by her sleeves so she couldn't move away.

"Paige you must never trust him, he loathes the human species with a passion. Anything he's told you has probably been a lie."

She stared up at him. The way he had unnecessarily used her name in that sentence worried her.

"He actually didn't tell me anything. The only words he spoke to me were threats to kill me."

Letting go of her sleeves he crossed his arms back over his chest.

"I see. Maybe all these years of living in hiding has finally driven him mad."

A smile split across his features as he began to pace the room. It was a bit disturbing watching the wheels in his mind turn. The grin that graced his face was anything but pleasant, it was even fairly obvious to Paige that his thoughts weren't on anything but vengeance.

Letting out a sigh Paige rested back against the chair. All this new information was starting to wear her out.

So that guy was Kaile. He was the one who found her and Gabriel that first night, the one who broke into their house, the one who was trying to kill Gabriel. He had tried but hadn't succeeded... She glanced over at Ganon. He was still forming twisted thoughts in his head she was sure. He was the one who had succeeded. Swallowing down the forming lump in her throat she looked away swiftly. In all reason he had saved her in the act of killing Gabriel... But she knew that that boy wasn't even Gabriel to begin with. If he had really killed that doctor then Gabriel may have actually died back at the house. She just hadn't realized it. If that was the case then... what had happened to Gabriel to make him turn into that monster? Did Kaile do something to him.

Biting her inner lip a bit too hard the metallic taste of blood spread over her tongue. She wished she could speak to Delvay again. From up there she was sure Delvay knew everything that had happened.

"Why are you bleeding?"

Looking up she noticed Ganon had stopped pacing and was looking at her again.

"Oh... I accidentally bit my lip just now."

He stared at her hard for a few seconds like he had to think over what she had just said.

"I'm going to go out for awhile, I suggest you get some rest. The faster you're healed the faster we can get moving."

"What, get moving where?"

Ignoring her question he stormed through the front door and took off into the air. She watched him disappear from the doorway in shock. She doubted she would ever get used to him having wings. Slowly looking away she directed her gaze back to the surrounding books. Even though she felt weary she needed to try and find answers on her own. Grabbing another book from one of the piles she read, "Reformationis: A Historia"

Dropping the book down she began scanning the book titles along their binding. There had to be at least one book in english.


	13. Chapter 12

Thoughtfully closing the book in her lap she stared down at its cover. It was a thick black bound book with crisp yellow pages worn from time to fill its contents. She hadn't been able to find too many books written in her language except this one and a few others. What was strange was that out of the books that she could read, they were all filled with fairy tales. And not just any cliche 'Once upon a Time' stories but horror stories. A few of them told tales of demons preying upon sleeping children in their beds, men beincg tricked into cheating on their wives by succubus's in disguise, dark entities lurking in the dark corners of your bed room waiting for you to notice them, the list of tales went on. She found it a bit disturbing and all the more confusing. She really hoped that all these stories were purely fiction.

Setting the book aside she slowly stood from the rickety chair. Ganon had been gone for awhile now, she wondered where it was he went off to everyday. Glancing between the shabby bed and the front door she made her way over to the closed door. She hadn't been outside in weeks, maybe the feeling of the sun and fresh air would help rid her of this melancholy feeling. The door took some effort to open sqeaking in protest when she pulled it inwards. A warm breeze let itself in feeding her need to get outside. She swiftly walked outside embracing the feeling of the sun on her pale skin. Tall trees surrounded her everywhere she turned. Looking up towards the sky she noticed that this cabin was completely hidden to the world. The trees over head shielded her view of the sky in full. Only a few rays of sunshine were able to make their way through the leaves to light up the area where she stood.

As her gaze trailed over the trees above she again realized how quiet it was. The silence was deafening making her aware of how alone she was. She wondered if she were to run away right now if Ganon or that silver haired demon would ever catch her. Was it possible to run from this mess she had ended up in. How far would these legs take her. She strode away from the cabin, not bothering to close the door. Bringing her hand to rest on the trunk of a tall tree she squinted her eyes trying to look as far into the forest as possible. It was just as before, a maze of endless trees. She doubted she would get anywhere if she were to run.

What was funny was she didnt feel all that much like running. Running has been all she had been doing. It was time to do something. Though she didnt know what she could possibly do right now. Perhaps just bide her time and wait for an opportunity to arise.

A sudden warm hand brushed lightly down her arm causing her to jump two feet from where she stood.

"Aaaah!"

Ganon's tall looming figure stood before her, a small smile playing at his lips.

"You humans are so jumpy."

Frowning she crossed her arms over her stomach.

"What do you expect when you sneak up on me like that."

Shifting uncomfortably she looked down towards her feet. Her cloth shoes had been disposed of long ago, though she couldnt for the life of her remember how they had gotten away. To her surprise Ganon gently took one of her hands and held it in his as he spoke.

"How are you feeling?"

She stared over at their joined hands. Why was he touching her...?

"I feel okay. A little weak I guess but I needed to get out of there. I was starting to feel like I was suffocating."

"That's understandable. Would you like something to eat? I brought you a treat."

Looking up from their conjoined hands she couldn't hide her surprise.

"A treat?"

He gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go.

"Yes, wait here. I decided to leave it on your bed before seeing where you were going."

He swiftly walked inside before coming out with a small brown paper bag in hand.

"Here take it. I don't know if you like these types of food but I noticed alot of humans like to eat them in the mornings."

She eyed the brown bag wearily before taking it from his outstretched hand. Whatever was in the bag it smelled familiar...

Unfolding the top she peaked inside to find the most deliciously sweet thing she had seen in weeks. A steaming cinnamon bun wrapped in wax paper. A huge smile she hadnt known was coming came to her lips. It reminded her of something from home. And it smelt so good. Biting her bottom lip she scooped the bun out of the bag and inhaled its sugary sweet scent.

"where did you get this?"

He could tell she was pleased by the small squeak of excitement in her voice.

"I snatched it from a human in a town not too far from here."

Her smile slightly faltered.

"You stole it from someone?"

"Yes."

Looking uncertainly down at the dessert she lightly nibbled the healing skin on her inner lip.

"Did you... did you hurt them?"

His face was blank.

"Would you feel remorse for them if I did?

She nodded.

"Then no I didn't hurt them."

She scowled at him.

"I don't believe you."

"Just eat human, I have things I need to discuss with you and I need you to regain your strength."

With that said he strode inside the cabin and disappeared behind the door, closing it with a loud squeak.

xXx

Licking the ends of her glaze covered fingers she moaned at the last sweet taste of sugar. This could be the last time she had anything sweet again and she was going to enjoy it.

Crumbling the brown paper bag into a ball she stood up from the grass she had decided to sit on and slowly walked towards the cabin. For some reason she dreaded what Ganon might have to discuss with her.

The door squeaked loudly as she opened it inwards. She hadnt realized how dark this cabin was compared to being outside. Its like she had been living in a cave instead of staying inside a cabin.

Ganon was sitting next to the table as usual with a book in hand.

Setting the paper bag at the edge of the bed she slowly sat down and waited for the conversation to begin.

It didn't take long for him to snap the book shut and look her way.

"We're going to be leaving tomorrow night."

She stared at him with a blank expression.

"Where are we going?"

"These last few weeks while you have been recovering, I've been tracking the traitor who turned your brother into that blood sucker."

Her eyes widened at the mention of Gabriel. He must be talking about Kaile, the one who not only sealed Ganon away but turned her brother into a monster...

"You've been tracking him...?"

Ganon's face was very serious. Slowly rising from the chair he walked over to where she was sitting and got down on one knee.

"I know where he's residing and I know how to stop him from taking anymore lives. I know you must loath him as much as I if not more..."

His statement ended leaving an empty silence behind, as if the very walls anticipated Paige's next move.

She stared at him. His yellow eyes were searching her own but his expression was unreadable. What was running through this mans mind right now she wondered. Just the very thought of Kaile or Gabriel made her heart ache with a familiar emptiness that she had tried to keep at bay these last few weeks. Before she even realized it Ganon had brought his hand up to her face and gently wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks away.

"Paige it's okay to feel pain, its what will guide you into being a stronger person."

His voice was gentle making the empty feeling inside of her grow stronger. Having someone who actually knew the truth about everything standing before her made her feel vulnerable... All she had ever wanted was to be happy... And this is where god had lead her. Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably and the tears began to flow freely.

She stared into his eyes letting him see all the pain she was feeling.

"Please... please help me."

He slowly reached his arms around her and pulled her into his lap.

"Of course. You never deserved any of this to happen to you. I will help you in anyway I can Paige."

She buried her head into his bare shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. She hadn't felt this hysterical since the day Kaile had came to her house.

"I have a plan to seal Kaile away, but I'm going to need your help."

She nodded into his shoulder too choked up to speak.

Apparently her nod was answer enough because Kaile didn't speak again until she had fallen asleep in his arms.

Setting her limp body down on the bed he stared down at her sleeping form. Brushing an orange lock of hair behind her ear he whispered to himself, " You poor creature... I almost feel sorry for whats about to happen to you."

A wicked smile formed on his lips before he slowly walked outside. His plan was coming along perfectly and it was now time to set everything in full motion.

Spreading his large raven like wings behind him he shot up into the air and disappeared into the sky.


	14. Chapter 13

Peeling her swollen eyes open she slowly sat up from the bed. A faint blue light was streaming in through the window meaning it was almost night fall. Letting out a long sigh she recalled the image of herself crying in Ganons arms. Squeezing her eyes shut a warm blush from embarrassment slowly tinged her ears.

She wondered how long she must have been crying before she passed out. By the deafening silence that hung in the air and absence of someone sitting in that rickety wooden chair she deduced she was alone. Ganon was usually never at the cabin around this time of day.

Rubbing her temples she slouched over remembering the last conversation they had had.

He had said he needed her help in sealing Kaile away...

Right now she couldnt fathom what that meant he needed from her?

Kaile had once sealed Ganon away in that tree meaning he must be holding a pretty huge grudge against her new caretaker as well. The image of Kaile's long silver hair and black eyes flashed through her mind. The way he had broken that doctors neck in front of her so coldly those weeks ago. What had turned an ex angel into something so cruel. And it was just her luck to be caught in the middle of it.

Looking down at her scarred hand she allowed herself to recall the horrid incident of how her hand been torn open. Gabriel had become a mindless cannibal in just a day. To think she would have become a monster too if not for Ganons help...

If the venom could do that to a human what mind altering affects did it have on an angel?

Without taking her eyes off of her hand she slowly closed her fingers within her palm. The scarred tissue became stretched taut. She knew this hand would never heal thoroughly reminding her of what happened that night for the rest of her life...

Nibbling her quivering bottom lip she sniffled while trying to hold back fresh tears that threatened to fall. She was sick of the tears. Sick of feeling weak and pathetic... She didn't want to be this ignorant girl anymore, she wanted to be strong while being in this situation.

How much could she really trust Ganon? She remembered how Delvhay had told her Ganon helping her was his most questionable act of kindness yet. Everything was so confusing. There was a huge question mark hanging above her life.

She knew she couldn't trust anyone yet she didn't want to do this alone, quietly suspecting everyone around her. She wasn't cut out for this. Maybe she should just tell Ganon to take her home so she could try and live as normal a life as she could... Somehow she already knew he wouldn't allow that to happen. Especially after the message Delvhay had had her convey to him.

She suspected Delvhay may have lied to Paige so Ganon wouldn't kill her though. There was no way she had any power over what happened in the end. But do angels lie?

Laying back down she curled into the fetal position and began trying to recall everything that had happened to her from the day she followed Gabriel into the forest. What if there was something important she had forgotten. Somehow an answer to this whole mess that she missed. All this time she had been trying to run away from the pain, but she was starting to get this sense that she was running out of time. If she couldn't trust anyone then she was going to have to learn to think quickly and figure out her next move herself.

The first night she had followed Gabriel, Kaile had actually thrown that man off of her allowing for her and Gabriel to escape the forest... Her eyes widened.

How could she have forgotten someone else had attacked them that night.

Vigorously shaking her head she groaned in frustration.

"What is going on!? Who is everyone!"

A sudden loud creaking filled the cabin as the front door was pushed open.

"Who are you talking about now?"

Ganon strode into the cabin with a pile of fabrics hanging casually over his shoulder.

Paige's head snapped up to meet his calculating gaze.

"Uhm nothing, I was just talking to myself..." She stated hurriedly.

"Obviously."

With an eyebrow raised he walked over to where she sat and dropped the fabrics onto her lap.

"I brought you a couple garments to try on."

Looking down she realized that they weren't just fabrics but dresses. She took the top one in hand and spread it out in front of her. It was a deep red, almost dark enough to be mistaken as burgundy. It's sleeves stopped at the elbows and the neck line dropped a little lower then she was used to wearing. It was made of satin which she found strange, this must have been an expensive dress. Eyeing the narrow waistline she brought her eyes down to the second dress. It was exactly the same style but a royal blue.

"I can't have you going around in that ragged pillow case any longer. It's starting to smell."

His upper lip curled with that last sentence.

Looking up at him she couldn't help the tinge of pink that suddenly stained her cheeks. She hadn't bathed in god knows how many weeks, she must have smelt worse than a farm pig...

Without questioning the dresses she picked the royal blue one and walked over to the darkest corner of the room.

"Thank you. I'll try this one on, would you please look away."

"As you wish."

Ganon crossed his arms over his chest and stood with his back facing her.

"I would have preferred you chosen the red one, its color is much more fitting."

She slowly peeled her torn dress off of her dirt stained skin. The pink dress she was wearing was so filthy with blood, sweat and caked dirt you wouldn't even recognize its original color as pink. Throwing it to the floor she gave it a disgusted look before putting on the blue dress.

"Yeah I like the color but I think its a little too sexual for me, blue has a more pure sense to it."

"You find it sexual?"

She looked up at his black wings that were in clear view. Right now they were drawn in but they were still quite large. The very tips of his wings hit the length of the back of his knees and the top part potruded at least a couple inches above his shoulders.

"Uhm... well yeah. A red like that is a very passionate hue, only a confident woman who was completely comfortable with the scandolous looks men and women alike give her would wear that dress out so casually."

There was a moment of silence with Paige struggling with the dress before he spoke.

"Interesting, that is something I did not know."

The waistline was too tight, pushing her sides in by half an inch. Whoever owned this dress must have had a very small frame.

She slipped her arms into the sleeves easily enough, all that was left was to tie the back. It felt weird wearing this soft clean dress. She had no undergarments on underneath because she had discarded those along with the pink dress.

She would have felt naked if not for the tight pinching at her sides. Looking down at herself she had to admit that it really was a lovely dress, she wondered where he had gotten them from.

"Yeah, it's not just the color but these dresses are cut a little low..."

Quickly scooping up the soiled clothes she balled them up and threw them under the bed. They were so stained she found herself appalled that she had been wearing them so absently all this time. That was almost as embarrassing as sneaking outside to relieve herself when she knew Ganon wasn't around. She had been living like an animal and it hadn't even dawned on her. Oh if her mother could see her now.

"I'm done changing if you want to look."

Ganon slowly turned her way with a bored expression gracing his features.

"Looks agreeable. Is your body feeling strong enough to leave this place?"

Resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at his blank expression she took a moment to focus on the soreness in her neck, she lightly shrugged. She definitely wouldnt be able to do any heavy lifting or any insane gymnist stretches but she really didnt want to stay in that dusty dark cabin any longer.

"Yeah I think ill be fine as long as im not doing anything that'll pull on my wounds..."

She was surprised to see a small smile form on his lips.

"Good then we'll be leaving here once the moon reaches its highest brink tonight. In the mean time have some water."

He held up his left hand to offer her a canister. The sound of the water swishing around in the canister brought on a light headed feeling that lasted only a second.

She didn't realize she hadn't had any water in a couple days now.

"Oh, thank you."

She took the water and began taking deep gulps. The water was surprisingly cool.

"

Once she was done drinking greedily from the canister she set it on her bed being sure it was balanced well enough not to fall over. Ganon had settled himself to leaning against the small table that was over-encumbered with books.

"Do you remember the conversation we had this evening?"

She stiffened remembering the way she had cried so openly in his arms.

"I do..." She rubbed her arms trying to find something to do with her hands.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. I didn't realize I was so exhausted then..."

A small smirk graced his face making him appear as a kind man would at first glance.

" Emotional trauma such as the one we were speaking of would make any human want to sleep through it."

She stared sulkily at the floor. "Yeah I suppose."

"Well putting that aside we're going to be heading to Ferafella city to lure Kaile out of hiding."

She had heard of Ferafella before. It was a large city that was off the coast of the Atlantic. Her father had brought her there once when she was a little girl but she had no memory of it now. Pulling her gaze away from the floor to where Ganon stood she couldnt help but stammer out her next words.

"How do you know he's in Ferafella?"

"It was an easy enough task finding him. Theres no doubt he's felt my presence grow stronger already. If Im being honest Im more then appauled by how low hes fallen since I've been away. What the years of this wasted land has done to his mind I find all the more pathetic. I will be rid of that filthy traitor soon. After I have him out of my way Ill have everyone groveling at my feet begging for my mercy. "

She watched his honey colored eyes glaze over to ones of pure black. He wasn't talking to her anymore, it seemed he was thinking out loud. She stayed quiet listening to him go on his little rant.

"Ill take them all down until there's not a walking bloodsucker on this earth. And once I've torn them all limb from limb and watched there ashes blow away to be spread into nothing but the cold wind I'll look to the skies and curse Dhelvay and every single one of those cowards who dare to enter my realm. "

She watched the menacing sneer grow across his features. It was one of the most unpleasant expressions she had seen cross his face since she'd met him. It was listening to that rant and watching that malicious expression grow across his face that made her decide without fault that Ganon was never to be trusted.


	15. Chapter 14

Once Ganon had finished with his speech about cursing Delvay and killing all blood suckers that roamed the land it came to her attention that he had said that they were leaving tonight instead of tomorrow.

"Wait I thought we were going to be leaving tomorrow night?"

He turned his attention towards her seeming to forget she had been standing there.

"Yes well things are moving along much too gradually. I see no reason to delay here if you are strong enough to travel."

Nibbling her inner lip she absently focused her gaze on the stained wooden floor beneath her bare feet.

"I see..."

Not considering that this man had once threatened to kill her the first night she had resided there or considering the fact that his obvious intentions were to spill the blood of many, she began speaking freely with no regard for the caution she should be taking.

"The more I've been thinking about it the more I don't understand how I can help you... I mean... I mean how do I fit into your plan? How are we going to seal Kaile away?"

She timidly looked up to match the passive stare Ganon was giving her. She watched curiously as his black eyes slowly began receding back to the golden honey color she presumed to be their original hue.

"That does prove a point I haven't yet discussed with you."

Pushing himself away from the wooden table he began a slow stride in her direction.

"In order for me to succeed in sealing Kaile away I need someone willing to give up their blood to him. Only by feeding from an innocent can I strengthen the curse."

Shocked by the blunt deliverance of his plans she gasped taking a large step back from his approaching form. She did not like the sound of this at all.

"You want me to give him my blood?"

"Yes. That is the only way we can both stop him from destroying anymore lives."

Pressing her left palm against her bandaged neck she recalled how it had felt when Gabriel had drank her blood. The soreness in her mending muscles began to increase ten fold just by the sheer memory. Wincing from the sudden throbbing in her neck she wondered if this wound would ever truly recover from this physical pain.

In those moments when her brother had been drinking from her she had been able to feel her very life ebbing away from her body. Never did she want to go through that painful horror again. She was almost positive that she'd prefer death then relive that moment.

Shaking her head with a frown etched across her features she became aware of the growing spark of rage ensuing in the inner reaches of her mind.

"I could never let anything drink from me again."

Ganon's eyebrows shot up in an expression feigning that he was anything but surprised by her response. His lips quirked into a mocking smile.

"Oh is that so. I thought you wanted to avenge your brothers death. This isn't something we can succeed at without making sacrifices. If you do not give up your blood then thousands of more lives will be lost."

He was now upon her. Grabbing her stiff shoulders in a tight grip he held her in place as he drew their faces so close together there was barely room for her to breath without inhaling his very breath.

This predicament made her feel extremely uncomfortable. Why was he always standing so close to her when they spoke or touching her all the time. It made her want to shove him as far away from her as possible. If only she actually had that kind of strength. It was so unjust that she was completely overpowered by him When it came to physical strength.

His voice lowered with his next words.

"Us Krusnik we do not die, we do not sleep and we most certainly never rest. You hold the power to end his immortal suffering and I have every intention of using that."

Swallowing the forming lump in her throat she recognised the threat that carried through his words. It was obvious to her that he planned to use her whether she was willing or not.

It was baffling being witness to the sudden change in Ganon's attitude. Last night he had been kind. He had made it seem like he held regard for her feelings. But now here she stood trapped under his vice like grip listening to him tell her that he planned to allow Kaile to kill her.

"Why are you doing this? Why save me from the monster that had once been my brother only to kill me? Why spend weeks cooped up in a cabin nursing my wounds if all you've been wanting to do was feed me to that monster?"

She was now fighting back the tears that wanted to shamelessly rush down her cheeks. She was sick of being so weak in front of him. She was sick of everything.

Another smile graced his features making her want to slap that disgusting look from his face. It was infuriating being mocked for how weak she was. His smile was an emotional punch in the face, fanning her growing rage. She might as well hurt his pride too, if he even had any.

With that thought in mind she raised her wounded hand in the air and made a hard swipe at his face.

A gasp escaped her lips when instead of her hand coming in contact with a stubble cheek it was stopped short from its target by a hand enclosed around her wrist.

That smile never left those lips.

"Who said anything about you dying."

A cold tear suddenly trailed down one of her cheeks.

"What...?"

"I said who said anything about you dying. You may be the key to enslaving Kaile but I have other plans for you once we're finished."

Furrowing her brow she searched those unreadable eyes of his.

"Other plans...? If you think I'm going to help you in your little search for vengeance then you are greatly mistaking. I am not your slave that you can pull around. I have needs too, Im not here to sate your lust for revenge, I'm here because I'm a bad sister! I don't need to kill Kaile for closure, I will never have closure. I will suffer losing my family for the rest of my life! I don't want to witness or feel anymore pain then I can avoid. I don't want-"

Her statement was suddenly cut off by the feel of lips forcing themselves against her own.

Widening her eyes she pushed her hands forcefully against his bare shoulders. This only resulted in him slipping his tongue between her open mouth.

WHAT IS HE DOING?! were suddenly the only thoughts screaming through her mind. The shock from the invasion of his tongue was pushed aside when he clamped his teeth around her tongue and broke the skin. A stinging pain convulsed through her tongue and head as the taste of metallic warm blood filled the bottom of her mouth.

"Mmmmpmmpf"

She struggled against him as hard as she could but he pressed their bodies closer by scooping an arm around her backside.

It hurt so much she wished she would faint.

He then took his other hand from her shoulder and pushed the back of her head in towards the kiss. Unclamping his teeth from around her tongue he began sucking on the blood that was constantly spilling from the torn muscle.

They both stared at each other during the kiss, her whole body shaking with fear and the realization that she had been in this situation before, but in a dream.

His tongue continued to explore the depths of her mouth cleaning every nook and crevise of her own blood. She suddenly noticed that he too was shaking.

Suddenly he pushed her away from him as abruptly as the kiss had started. Letting out a short scream she fell backwards onto the floor.

Clamping the roof of her mouth over her tongue she covered her face with her hands trying to take in the shock of what he just did.

"w-why did you-"

"There's been another change of plans."

With alarming speed Ganon hoisted her back up by her upper arm.

"Ah let go of me!"

She began struggling against his grip when she noticed the abrupt sound of creaking resounded through the cabin. Suddenly the front door slammed inwards cracking the wall behind it. The scream building inside her chest disipated in her throat when the familiar image of a silver haired demon came flying through the doorway.


	16. Chapter 15

**Oh my god readers please tell me what you think of this short chapter. It's so weird but I was kind of at a blank before I started writing this...**

Ganon quickly pushed her away to the side of the room just in time for her to avoid being caught in Kaile's path. The silver haired creature slammed against Ganon with such speed she barely had time to register their two bodies careening against the wall of the cabin and breaking the aged wood as if it was of no hindrance. As fast as that they both disappeared out into the night air.

In a state of confused panic She rushed out the open door and followed the sound of the fight ensuing above. The distinct shape of two winged men could be seen threading through the branches of the trees.

The duo broke apart, spun, and came together once more, joined in an aerial dance that was as beautiful as it was deadly. Her eyes widened in fascination at the sight of the two majestic creatures going at it tooth and nail, their snarls and growls carried through the night sending chills through her bones.

Wings pounded the air in a frenzied beat, black and black, flashing again and again. Ganon was the first to break the rhythm as Kaile managed to wrap a hand around his neck and dropped into a dive, hurtling them down the trunks path and slamming Ganon's back against the forest floor. A wheeze of air could be heard forcing itself from his lungs.

As Paige watched the horrific yet tantalizing scene play out before her she suddenly became aware of a slow deliberate rise in her body temperature.

Lifting her hands from her sides she examined the shadow of her arms and palms expecting to find the cause. Then in just the time it would take for a gust of wind to sweep by the blood in her veins suddenly became seeringly hot causing a half scream half groan to tear from her throat.

Collapsing to the ground in shock, she slowly crawled forward on all fours struggling to gain control of this familiar pain.

"Please, no! Not again." She hissed in agony.

Rolling onto her back she began panting heavily.

It felt as if boiling blood was being pumped through every organ in her body, burning her insides until she combusted.

Her breathing was reduced to short desperate wheezing, slipping in between her whimpers of pain. Pushing her shoulder blades and the soles of her feet against the dirt beneath her she lifted her stomach towards the heavens.

Then suddenly a snap.

A high pitched scream tore from her lips piercing the night air with a terrified urgency. The bones in her chest began contorting and twisting in odd directions. Her heart was slamming against her chest in such a frenzy she felt it would burst through her ribs.

Another snap.

Growling in agonizing frustration she pushed her head into the ground, her nostrils were flaring with every rapid breath she could manage.

Lifting her hand from the ground she watched in shock as the joints in her fingers began to pop and move of their own accord. Her nails began to grow, forming sharp claw like nails.

Another scream tore from her lips when her jaw bone suddenly cracked.

Digging her long nails into the dirt beside her she held onto the earth in a death grip as her canines were suddenly pushed out of her gums in a bloody mess to be replaced with long sharp fangs.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head while ber body convulsed with every wave of pain that rolled through. Somehow she managed to cling to consciousness throughout this painful ordeal.

Unaware of her surroundings for the next few minutes, the thought of the two men soring above her left her mind completely.

The wound on her tongue then began to mend itself, new muscle sealing the blood flow from flowing freely. Then as suddenly as the pain had came it vanished in an instant.

She layed there unmoving for a couple minutes just listening to the slow steady rythem of her heart. All pain in her body had ceased even the usual throbbing in her neck.

What has he done to me, was the question ringing through her thoughts.

Even though she didn't know what had happened to her body she knew how.

That pain had been the same pain from before when Gabriel had bit her. Right before she had lost too much blood.

She knew exactly what had caused this but she didn't feel murderous or insane like her brother had been.

Opening her eyes her line of vision trailed over the branches above. Over every rustling leaf, every moaning branch, every flash of the night sky that the trees allowed her to see. She was aware of everything around her as if she were laying in mid day. The night concealed none of her surroundings in fact it heightened them.

Pushing herself to her feet her attention snapped towards a barrage of two bodies hurtling towards her. In a hastened motion she stepped out of their path just in time to watch as they skidded against the earth leaving behind a large trail in their wake.

Ganon was on top of Kaile attempting to strangle the life out of him. Both of their teeth were barred, snapping and visciously growling at each other as dogs would do.

The silver haired boy positioned underneath Ganon held him back with one hand on his bare chest while his other hand slid down to a large knife hanging from his black pants. Wrapping slender fingers around its handle he swiftly stuck it into the side of Ganons stomach.

A fierce growl reverberated through the still air.

Suddenly positions switched as Kaile spun them around so Ganon was lying beneath his crouched form. Taking his blade in hand he twisted it deeper into his enemys side, watching in satisfaction as pain etched itself into Ganons features.

Paige's eyes widened as she watched the two struggling to have the advantage in the fight.

Without realizing that she should be afraid or that she should be trying to avoid danger she took a step in their direction.

First thing she noticed was that her feet felt light. Like her body was as light as a feather. Taking her eyes off the two winged men she examined her new hands.

The scar from Gabriels teeth had disappeared leaving behind smooth pale skin. Even though it was tragic that was the only thing she had in memory of him.

Training her eyes away from the once scarred skin she noticed that her fingers seemed longer and her nails were literally as sharp as knives.

Frowning at her new predicament she brought her attention back to the man responsible for this. Stepping forward she approached the two slowly.

Kaile was the first to notice that they weren't alone. Lifting his gaze his attention was suddenly on Paige.

A look of recognition flashed behind his black eyes and then to one of disbelief.

For some reason his shocked expression brought a giggle bubbling to her lips. She must have looked different then from the last time he saw her.

Pressing forward she approached him until their noses were almost touching. He pulled his head away while still roughly holding down ganons body beneath him. He seemed to be silently trying to calculate her next move.

For some reason it was satisfying having him watch her so quizically. She wondered if he was afraid she would attack him.

"Don't worry I won't get in your way this time." She cooed in a smooth voice that barely sounded like her own.

His eyes widened.

Bringing a hand to her lips another giggle escaped her throat.

Switching her attention to the black haired fiend who she found was also staring at her she frowned.

"Was this your plan all along?"

Reaching down she slapped him hard across the face leaving a red spot to form on his cheek.

He grunted in surprise before frowning up at her.

"I am a fool..." He said more to himself than to her.


End file.
